Trials of the Sea
by Avarianus
Summary: War is coming, below the waves and above. But as the Olympians slowly realize what awaits them, Percy's fate leads him down another path. His trials will happen out in the sea, where ancient grudes persist and nothing is quite as it seems. Amidst monsters and deceit he will have to find his destiny. But one things is assured. He is not alone. AU Sequel to "Champion of the Sun"
1. I

**So, I did promise to upload the sequel to my first story, Champion of the Sun, and I always keep my word. In the last few days I wasn't even sure if people actually want to read the sequel, the number of hits for Champion of the Sun got higher every day, but no one wanted to Review whatsoever. It's hard to find out whether it is worth it to work on this sequel without anyone telling me whether you liked oder disliked the first story. But meh, I promised a the sequel, so here it is. The events of this story will begin a bit before the beginning of Sea of Monsters. Like the last story it will follow a slightly different storyline, but most canon events will still happen, but in a different way.**

**For all those who have not read any of my stories before, this is a sequel. Some things might not be understandable if you have not read Champion of the Sun before. So you should start with that story first. **

**For all those who have come back to read the sequel, welcome and enjoy the show...**

* * *

Percy was running, running as fast as he could in a vain attempt to escape his pursuer. He couldn't keep the smirk off his face, since he clearly enjoyed the thrill of the chase, though this time he was the hunted and not the hunter. But this way the boredom in Camp Half-blood became at least a bit more bearable.

He had to dodge several other campers, as he ran past the big campfire, which was still burning calmly. He winked at the small girl who tended to the fire, receiving a benevolent smile in return. Most others either didn't see the girl or simply ignored her, but Percy knew better. He sometimes talked to the girl when no one was around and often got valuable advice from her. But right now he did not have the time to chat.

"Jackson! Come here and fight you coward!" He heard the angry yell coming from somewhere behind him. But he had a good head-start.

Soon he could hear the distinct sound of hammering that constantly came from the forge. He could already see the fires and the Hephaestus' Campers. Those kids could always be found there, tinkering around, creating new weapons and trinkets, one more crazy than the other.

Not long after he had arrived, Percy had already formed a camaraderie with the children of Hephaestus. They were extremely curious about his sword and he in return was curious about any trinkets that would make his fights easier. Though he was still trapped inside the camp, Percy knew that this wouldn't last for ever. He knew that sooner or later Apollo would get him out of here... or maybe not.

Maybe Apollo was still slightly miffed about the prank Percy and Hermes had played on him a month ago. But Percy knew it was worth it. He got at least a small revenge on Apollo for getting him into trouble all the time and Hermes got a nice distraction. The Messenger of the gods was still worried about his traitorous son, even though he wouldn't openly admit it.

But all of this didn't matter now, Percy still had to run. He was in no mood to fight right now. Maybe a shortcut right through the forge would deter his pursuer from following. So he ran right into the forge, jumping out of the way of campers with searing hot crafting materials, avoiding anvils and any other possibly dangerous places in the forge. Luckily the Hephaestus Campers are used to this by now and managed to avoid him just in time.

That was until a large hand grabbed Percy and pulled him to the side. Any other kid in the camp would be worried by the sight of the boy, who stood in front of Percy now, but the son of Poseidon merely smirked, just like Apollo would do in the same situation. Before him stood a large, dark-skinned boy with hands like catcher's mitts. Charles Beckendorf, the current counselor of the Hephaestus cabin looked quite imposing, with his muscular build and seemingly permanent scowl. But to Percy he was just a good and loyal friend who was not very confident around most people. A fault that all children of Hephaestus shared.

"Hey, Beckendorf. What's up?"

"Percy, I told you that no one is allowed to run inside the forge. It is too dangerous." Beckendorf scolded lightly. Truth be told, he had long given up on Percy following this rule. Percy had only been here for less than three months, but it was obvious that it was easier instructing everyone to watch out for him, instead of getting Percy to not run through the forge like a madman.

"I won't do it again." Percy said, rolling his eyes. He felt like a small boy, being scolded by his older brother for doing something really stupid. "But... Beckendorf, can you do me a favor?"

The older boy sighed, knowing full well where this would lead. "Where is she?"

"Jackson! Fight me, dammit!"

"Can't you just fight her and get this over with. It's not like she can beat you at the moment." Beckendorf said.

"But its more fun this way."

"Fine, run along, I'll buy you some time." Beckendorf conceded.

"Thanks buddy, I owe you one." Percy said, before he started running again.

"More than one, Percy, many more..." The son of Hephaestus muttered dejectedly as he saw Clarisse come his way. This was so troublesome.

* * *

Percy meanwhile continued on his path, making his way towards the Big House now. Beckendorf would buy him enough time to get away. Clarisse would soon loose interest in hunting him. And she wouldn't search for him near the Big House. Because of Mr D's dislike of him, Percy only went to that house when it was absolutely necessary.

Chiron had just left the Big House, walking slowly towards the archery range to watch over the lesson of the camp's newest arrivals. He expected nothing bad, when suddenly a certain demigod ran past him as quickly as his feet would carry him.

"Good morning, Chiron." Percy yelled, before disappeared again.

Chiron could only watch, as Percy disappeared in the distance, until he finally vanished near the lake. The Centaur shook his head in consternation, worried about the possible consequences of whatever Percy had done today. When he saw Clarisse coming from the same direction as Percy, he knew that the boy had at least done nothing more than skip his spars with Ares' most belligerent daughter. But the consequences of that could still mean trouble for the camp. Clarisse would tear down anything in her way, until she got Percy.

But the son of Poseidon had finally resorted to his last way of escaping. He jumped head first into the lake. On the bottom of the lake he was absolutely safe from all other campers. No one else would be able to stay down there for as he long as him. But there was one downside to this. Naiads. They would always come to him, when he got close to lake. Sometimes they tried to pull him into the water, just for the fun of it. To them a son of the sea-god was extremely exciting.

And of course Apollo had to make some very inappropriate comments about his champion and his group of nymph fan girls, that only increased the fervor of the Naiads. The demigods at camp knew the Naiads as terrible flirts, but for Percy it was even worse.

And not a minute after he had entered the lake, the Naiads had already seen him and swam his way. Maybe he should have just fought Clarisse, instead of taunting her and starting a goose chase through the camp. Oh well, it was too late now.

But moments before the Nymphs would have reached him they stopped with a fearful look on their faces. Seeing them like this made Percy only more nervous. There was only one person that visited the camp, who would frighten them like this.

"Perseus! Why is that every time I come here for your training, I have to search the whole place for you."

Percy gulped, before he turned around. "Good morning, brother... nice day, isn't it?" Behind Percy swam Triton, in his normal form with two tails instead of legs. His greenish skin made him look even more menacing in the dull water of the lake. As usual the godly son of Poseidon wore his armor and had his trident clutched in his hand.

"You are late for your training. Again." Triton spoke calmly, but he managed to have the effect that it sounded like he promised the worst pains imaginable with every single syllable. "If you continue to slack off like this, then I see no use in continuing your training at all. I warned you not to bring shame to our family, but you still continue with this undignified act of childishness."

"I'm sorry, Triton... I won't do it again..." Oh how Percy hated being scolded like this. Apollo never did it and he couldn't really remember whether his mother did it either. His memories of her had become few in number and even those few that remained were hazy at best. It was his greatest regret that he was slowly forgetting about his mortal mother, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"And you?" Triton turned towards the Naiads now, venting his bad mood on them. He knew it wouldn't be good to be angry with his brother, it would only alienate the boy from the rest of the family. And Triton knew that his mother wouldn't want that. So the Naiads had to endure his wrath. "Do none of you have any shame at all? Get lost you hussies." The naiads fled as quickly as they could, much to Percy's amusement.

"So... to the beach?" Percy asked after some moments in silence. But Triton did not answer, instead he raised his trident and pointed it at Percy. "Oh shit..." Triton created a stream of water, that shot at Percy. Percy felt as if he had been hit by truck, as he had been hit by the stream. Only barely he managed to summon his sword to block Triton's next attack. One thing was for sure, Triton was one hard teacher.

* * *

Ariadne looked decidedly bored, as she trotted after Micheal, her older brother. She and her siblings had spent the entire morning at the archery range, following their favorite pastime. Everything was nice and quiet, until they saw the commotion that Percy had caused on his mad escape. She had laughed at first, when she saw that, knowing full well that Percy was simply playing with the daughter of Ares. But her good mood wouldn't hold for long.

Not much later the children of Aphrodite joined Apollo's kids at the archery range for their training. Tutoring the other campers in archery was one of the duties of the Apollo cabin and this day it the turn of the Aphrodite cabin to be taught. And that was where Ariadne's day turned bad.

"You really shouldn't have done that, Ariadne. Chiron will be very disappointed." Micheal said, as he led his sister towards the Big House, where he expected Chiron to be.

"Oh come one. That bitch had it coming. And it wasn't even intentional."

"Not intentional? You shot an arrow at her." Michael looked incredulously at Ariadne.

"It was an unfortunate accident."

"You hit bullseye on that strange embroidery on her skirt! This wasn't a lucky shot, you took aim."

Ariadne merely shrugged. "It mistook her large ass for the target. No one should run across the archery range during an ongoing training session."

"She went to fetch her arrows." Micheal really didn't know what to do with his sister. He didn't know whether Ariadne disliked the children of Aphrodite because of the many years she had spent with her aunt, Lady Artemis, who saw Aphrodite as the crass opposite of everything she believed in, or whether Ariadne just had a problem with that girl. Drew wasn't very famous with most campers... but this went too far.

Micheal was lucky, when he saw Chiron coming their way. "Great, now I get a long lecture..." Ariadne muttered.

But before Chiron could reach them something else happened. First they heard a loud splashing sound, then a scream. Before anyone knew what had was happening the source of both sounds crashed onto the ground next to the two Apollo campers.

"Shit. Why does he have to hit so hard all the time..." Percy said, as he rubbed his hurting behind. "He's worse than Ares sometimes."

"Training with your dearest brother again?" Ariadne asked, her head slightly cocked to the left, a crooked grin on her lips.

"No pain is too much if it allows me to learn something valuable..." Percy's words sounded more like he tried to convince himself, instead of others.

"Are you alright, Percy?" Chiron asked, as he joined the group of demigods.

Percy dusted himself off, as he stood up from the ground. Though he was just catapulted out of the lake he was already dry, since he could already control the water on his clothes and hair without any problems.

"I'm fine. I've been in worse conditions after fighting against gods."

"Don't brag, Perseus. That is a habit unbecoming of a son of the Sea." Triton scolded sternly, as he appeared, now in his more human form with legs instead of the tails.

"Lord Triton, an honor, as always." Chiron bowed slightly before the god, showing his respect.

Triton nodded towards the Centaur, before he looked at his brother again. "You still have much to learn, Perseus. Come, the next lesson will be at the beach."

"Alright... back to work." Percy sighed overly dramatic, before he allowed Triton to lead him away.

Ariadne saw this as her chance to escape a long and probably terribly boring lecture about safety regulations at the archery range, so she quickly ran after the two brothers, before anyone could stop her. "I'll tag along, see you later, Michael." Was all she said, before she escape the clutches of her older brother and the Centaur.

* * *

The two sons of Poseidon were quite the sight, as they marched through the camp. It was rare to see any of the gods inside the camp, but Triton's visits had become a regular occurrence during the last few months. By now most campers had accepted the fact that Percy had more contact to the gods than most other campers combined. Most had no problem with that, but some few felt jealous. Jealous that Percy seemed to be a favorite of the gods, though no one was sure whether Percy was the favorite demigod or the favorite pet of the gods.

"Those demigods know no respect. How any of their parents can be proud of them is beyond me." Triton said disdainfully, as he watched the other campers around them. "I do hope that you have not fraternized with any of the less desirable denizens here, Perseus."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"I mean it. You have to stay away from the lies and falsehood that some of these children have inherited from their parents. Be wary, especially of the children of Athena. She is our father's enemy as much as she is ours. Her children will only bring you harm."

"Most of them avoid me like the plague. But one of them has been a bit... odd. That girl, Annabeth, one of the companions of the thief, had pestered me with questions."

"Do not answer those questions. They will use all knowledge against you."

Percy was confused. Ever since Triton had come to train him, his older brother had constantly ordered him to stay away from the children of Athena. Triton seemed to downright loath Athena. And it was obvious that it was more than just a feeling born out of his loyalty to his father. To Triton it was obviously something personal.

"You really hate Athena and her kids, don't you?" Percy asked.

The question did nothing to lighten up the mood, the opposite in fact, it only caused Triton to scowl even more. "It wasn't always like this, but Athena's betrayal made it clear that she is an enemy of the sea, not just and enemy of our father."

"What?"

"It's not the time to tell this particular story. One day I will explain it to you. Explain how she has wronged all of us. Until then, you have to trust me and do as I tell you."

Percy didn't like it when people kept the truth from him, but judging by Triton's last words and the somber expression on his face, it was truly not the time to pry. But he was still so very curious. Maybe someone else could shed some light on this. But maybe it would be bad to go behind his brothers back. Though he was a stern teacher, Percy saw Triton as an older brother who deserved respect. Apollo had always been a more laid back big brother figure in Percy's life, while Triton was now more like the sterner, more dutiful sibling. The two gods were a stark contrast, but Percy knew that he benefited greatly from the teachings of both.

Ariadne, who had followed the brothers silently for some time, was finally fed up with the foul mood. "So, will we learn something interesting?"

"We?" Triton asked her with a raised eyebrow. Only grudgingly had he accepted that the daughter of Apollo followed Percy around most of the time. She was an annoyance to him, but he could understand that she had similar problems with fitting in at camp as Percy had. They shared a connection because of Apollo and due to their joint adventure they had grown somewhat closer. Alienating her would likely displease Percy and Triton avoided that if possible.

"Yes, we. I want to learn something, too, instead of being forced to teach archery to wannabe dolls, who have no care for the finer art of archery." Ariadne insisted.

"Understandable. Aphrodite's children aren't really interested in fighting or anything connected to that." Percy said with a nod. "But you can teach me some more things about archery that Apollo had no time to teach me."

"No archery." Triton said strongly. "We do not need a second Orion. The first one was a failure to begin with and we really don't want to repeat that mistake. And with Artemis in a position of power over you, it would be in your best interest to not remind her of Orion's existence by following his example."

"Right... so no archery for the moment." Percy conceded. He had no wish to antagonize Artemis any further. And to this day it was enough to just mention the name Orion to anger Artemis. Any attempt to emulate him would equal a death wish. "Then... close combat again?"

Triton looked thoughtful for a moment, before he answered. "Yes. But since you two are always together we will try something new. You will fight side by side against me. Try to combine your strengths and fight me with all you got. Maybe you will last for a few minutes this time, Perseus."

* * *

**A/N: This is just the beginning. Just from this chapter it should be obvious that Triton will play a much bigger role in Percy's life, than he did in the books. I was always disappointed that Percy had so few interactions with his half-brother. Don't get me wrong, I do like Tyson, but I always felt that Triton would have been much more interesting, especially with his involvement with Athena and other gods.**

**And as I had mentioned before, I have several new chapters for this story, so let me know whether you are actually interested in this story or not.**

**Well, that is all for today. I hope to see you all soon...**


	2. II

The dark corridor. Again. He had lost count how many times his dreams had brought him here. But unlike the first time he was neither hurt, nor could he ever find an exit. He had tried. He had walked endlessly through the darkness, never reaching an end. It was depressing.

And then there was that voice. This voice that told him things. Instructing him about all he should know. The past events, the Titan's rule, the Titanomachy, the rise of the Olympian gods. The voice told him much and explained all those things that even Apollo felt uncomfortable talking about. But it was odd. The voice knew so much and told it all from the viewpoint of a person involved in the events. But to this day Percy had no idea who his mysterious teacher was.

And now his dreams had brought him to this place again. He wondered what he would learn today. The lessons had never really followed a pattern. Or maybe he was just unable to see the pattern.

"Hello?" Percy said loudly. His voice echoed from the dark walls until it completely vanished.

"Perseus..."

"Yep, I'm back. What will you tell me today? Something about a big war or more stories about the rivalry and treachery on Olympus?"

"The time is near, Perseus." The voice replied cryptically.

Percy looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"You have learned a lot and become stronger through your brother's training. But you have yet to face the true challenges that lie ahead of you. Your destiny is awaiting you."

"Then let's go." Percy said confidently. He had heard about this supposed destiny so often he was sick and tired of it. He wanted to find out what his destiny really is, but the voice never told him more than riddles.

"Be careful, you are not fully ready yet." Percy grumbled, clearly disappointed with this. "First your trials have to be completed."

"Wait, what trials? You never said anything about trials."

"Even the greatest heroes had to face their trials, before they could fulfill the destinies that made them famous. Now it is your time to prove yourself worthy of the destiny that has been bestowed upon you."

"Who has bestowed this 'destiny' upon me?" Percy asked curiously. "Have the gods done this? Are you one of them?"

He was sure he had heard the voice laugh in amusement. But it wasn't clear if it was meant to mock him or not. "This is far greater than the gods' games with their mortal children. They wouldn't understand what I'm about to do. They are children, playing around with powers that need more moderation than they are willing and able to show."

"Are you an enemy of the gods?" Percy asked carefully, after some moments of silence.

With each passing moment Percy grew more nervous. Why was there no answer to his simple question? Was this voice, his secretive mentor, an enemy of Olympus? But finally, after many nerve-wracking seconds the voice answered.

"No." Percy let out a relieved sigh. This could have ended bad, had the gods found out that he somehow communicated with an enemy in his dreams. But he had this feeling that he could trust that voice, so he believed the words readily. "But..." Percy gulped when he heard that word. There is always a catch. "Your gods have not listened to me in a long time. To them I have been lost for eons, they wouldn't believe my warnings in their arrogance."

"Okay... so this destiny you have talked about..." Percy tried to change the subject now. Just judging by the tone the voice had used it was obvious that he should not pry any further... this time at least.

"Your first trial will lead you to sea,

where monsters and myths are running free,

on the island of deception you will find the key,

to set a sister from her torment free,

but blood will be shed and lives will be lost,

as an oath will be broken despite the cost."

"Not another riddle." Percy groaned in annoyance. "Why does it always have to be riddles? Is it too much to ask for a clear instruction?"

He heard a chuckle, which obviously came from the voice. For the first time he was sure that the voice had to be female, so far it had been impossible to say for sure. But now he was sure that whoever his mentor was, it had to be a woman.

"Soon, Perseus, you will see everything much more clearly. Until then I will watch over your every step. Do your ancestors proud." And with those parting words the dark corridor faded away and a blinding light replaced it.

* * *

Percy groaned as he realized that the light was actually the early morning sun. "Apollo..." Percy said groggy. He was sure that his patron was trying to annoy him again. Then something blocked the light out.

Slowly Percy opened his eyes, until he saw what stood between him and the light of the sun. There, directly before him was the face of another person. Silky black hair framing a deathly pale face with pitch black eyes that held a strange glow in them. A mischievous smirk on the persons lips.

"Boo" The person said with a chuckle.

Percy, still not fully awake suddenly jumped back in fright, his hand instinctively went for the amulet around his neck. Only in the last moment he recognized the person, the girl who had entered his room and had woken him up.

"Bianca?" He asked, not sure if he saw right.

The girl nodded, a pleased look on her face. She was obviously happy that he had remembered her, thought they had only spent a few short days together. "Hello, Percy."

Percy actually had to look twice to recognize the daughter of Hades. The last time he had seen her she was somewhat timid, hiding herself in the shadows of others in an attempt to not draw any attention to herself. Even while talking she was somewhat shy, a stark contrast to her brother, who had been in camp for the last few months. Nico asked questions about everything, never shutting up until someone started to chase him off. But the Bianca di Angelo, that stood before Percy now, was very different from the girl he had left behind in the Underworld. Gone was the green hat that she had used to hide her hair and face from sight. Her long black hair was now in a long braid that hung over her shoulder, decorated with different ornaments that Percy had not seen before. Even the way she carried herself now made her look at least a bit more self-confident than before. Staying with her father had obviously been good for her.

"So... what brings you here?" Percy asked.

Bianca smiled slightly, as she looked towards the sea, through the large windows of the cabin. "Well... you know, I wanted to see how this camp is... and all... you know." She gestured with her hands, pointing towards the direction where the rest of the camp was, as she tried to keep herself from blabbering.

"That's cool. Camp is less dreadful than I had feared at first, though I do miss the monster hunting for Apollo. Gods I even sometimes miss the little fights I had with the Hunters of Lady Artemis." Odd as it sounded, he had really started to miss those meetings, though they mostly ended with him pulling arrows out of his behind. "What have you been up to, during those last few months?"

"Training. Thanatos is a real taskmaster when he wants to."

"The god of death is training you?" Percy asked surprised.

Bianca nodded. "Yeah. Dad is not allowed to raise me because of the laws, so he got Thanatos to do it."

"Right... that law. I forgot about that." Percy replied, as he remembered that. "So you've spent most of your time with dead people now. Well that has to be much more enjoyable than a campfire sing along here." He joked. But Bianca didn't understand his joke and merely looked at him in confusion. "Right... so, here to see your brother?"

"Yes and no..." Bianca said sadly. "Dad has forbidden me to go and see him. He said that Nico has to grow himself a backbone and that a smothering older sister wouldn't help him in the slightest."

"That's bullshit... he has even forbidden us to tell him about his parentage. Nico now lives as an unclaimed child in the Hermes cabin." He shook his head, showing his displeasure with that particular order. But he wouldn't go against Hades' command. That could be... unhealthy.

"I don't know why dad doesn't like Nico... he is too harsh, his expectations are far too high. Nico is still a young boy, nothing more. I admit I was happy about being freed from the responsibility to care for him, but this... this punishment goes too far."

"So, you are here even though your father forbids it? Quite the rebel, didn't expect that from you to be truthful."

She looked a bit sheepish, a small blush on her face as she heard him. "I do have Thanatos' permission to visit the camp... I'm just not allowed to show myself to my brother. But I have one request though."

"Sure, just ask. If I can do it, I will."

"Thank you, Percy." She rummaged through the pockets of her black clothing, until she produced a small figurine.

"A action-figure? I'm not really the type to play with such toys. I never had many toys to begin with and ever since I met Apollo I've been training all the time. The next best thing to a teddy I had were the Hellhounds I fought against... And let me tell you a secret, no matter what Apollo tells you, Hellhounds do not like to be cuddled..." Percy smiled as he remembered the last few years in Apollo's care. As annoying as the sun-god could be, he was still as much a brother figure as Triton.

"It's not for you." Percy made a mock hurt expression, earning himself a chuckle from Bianca. "This is for Nico. He collects the Mythomagic figures. This is the Hades figure, the only one missing in his collection. I would give it to him personally, but..."

"You want me to give it to him?" Percy asked sceptically. "And how am I supposed to explain this to him? _'Hey Nico, look I have this figurine that you are looking for. No, I can't tell you where I know this from and who gave this to me, just be happy and run along...'_ This will not end well."

"Please, Percy. I know that he isn't even slightly as happy as he pretends all day. I want to give something to him to cheer him up. Dad will surely change his mind soon and allow me to talk to him personally. But I need your help at the moment."

Percy sighed, as he saw her pleading look. Never disappoint a lady, that is what Apollo had taught him. But he really didn't want to remember the next lesson about how happy girls sometimes reward the men that helped them... Percy was sure that Apollo was one sick puppy in some regards.

"Fine... I don't know how, but I will give it to him. Do you want me to relay a message, too?"

Bianca smiled happily at Percy, before she gave him a hug. But the moment she did that she already realized what she was doing and jumped back with an embarrassed look on her face. She placed the figurine on Percy's bedside table, before she turned to leave.

"Got to go, Thanatos is waiting for me... see you around, Percy." She said, before she disappeared in a shadow.

Percy really didn't know what to think about this strange encounter. He looked out of the window and towards the sun. For a moment he was sure he saw Apollo smirking down on him, before he had to avert his eyes. "Just laugh at me, will you. It is you fault that I will never understand women... filling my head with your perverseness..."

Then he heard someone outside of his cabin. "Percy, get up, we want to go to breakfast on time for once. And don't forget the Capture the Flag game today." Ariadne yelled, before she entered the cabin. She always did it this way, after she had accidentally ran into an only partially dressed Percy, when she entered the building without giving him a proper warning in advance.

"Well at least some things continue as usual. Percy muttered, before he skulked off towards the showers.

* * *

Percy looked annoyed, as he listened to the explanations of his team captain. Capture the Flag was a big event at camp and both teams usually fought tooth and nails for victory. The only time all the campers would work together was, when the Hunters of Artemis visit the camp and compete against the other demigod children. But there were no Hunters at camp today, so the campers had to split up into two teams. Cabins were chosen randomly to work together, no matter whether they liked each other or not.

That was also the reason Percy was so displeased at the moment. As usual he was teamed up with the Apollo Cabin, mostly since Apollo had made it clear to Chiron that Percy was part of that Cabin due to his status as his champion, but the other Cabins in their team were less than pleasant company. At least to Percy. The Ares Campers looked at him like he was the real prey in their game. But today they had to work together, something that annoyed Clarisse extremely. Percy already pitied the first unfortunate fool who would have face her wrath.

But his problem was not that he had to fight alongside Ares children, no, his problem was with the self-proclaimed leaders of their team. The children of Athena. He wondered which god found it amusing to force him to fight alongside the children of his families mortal enemy. He hardly found it amusing. His brother, Triton, had all but ordered him to distrust them, to loath them. And he did as he was told. Though he couldn't bring himself to hate people who had not wronged him enough to warrant such feelings. But he distrusted them. And that feeling was mutual.

Especially during the Capture the Flag games they showed their disdain. As his opponents they tried to have him defeated first and as his allies they always emphasized that he was dispensable and created strategies that would essentially sacrifice him for their team's victory.

The only child of Athena that showed him a modicum of respect was Annabeth, the girl that had been with the Lightning thief. But Percy was sure it was only because she remembered that he spoke in her favor during the council. She at least had some honor, Percy had to acknowledge that. But her siblings had no such qualms.

"And you, Percy, will guard the creek. Surely you will be able to defend that place on your own, being a son of Poseidon and favorite of the gods and such." The boy, Malcolm, almost sneered at Percy. Percy had never talked much to him, but the boy obviously felt great disdain for him, far greater than most of his siblings. Word has it, that the boy was madly in love with a daughter of Apollo, but ever since Percy and Ariadne had come to the camp, the relations between the Apollo and Athena cabins had become very strained.

Though Percy was no son of Apollo, his mentor's children stood by his side was if he was one of their siblings. Their friendship and loyalty was endearing and Percy liked them even more for that.

"Sure and what will you do, oh great conqueror? Sit on a tree near the flag to observe the situation while you think about where you have erred in your tactic? Or will you actually fight for once?" Percy asked mockingly, much to Malcolm's anger.

"Show some more respect. Should we win it will be thanks to the tactics of me and my siblings..."

"And should we loose it will be due to your cowardice." Clarisse interjected from her place in front of her siblings. As much as she wanted to fight Percy to prove herself worthy to her father, she also shared his dislike for the Athena children. "Get your ass up and fight this time, Malcolm. No one would ever love a coward."

"Just get ready." Malcolm said derisively, before he stalked away. Some of Ares kids snickered as they saw him leave after being embarrassed.

Percy meanwhile looked among his teammates for one particular girl. He had a request to make. "Hey, witch-girl." He said, as he walked towards the girl he was looking for.

Lou Ellen, one of the few children of Hecate at Camp Half-blood, looked at Percy with a raised eyebrow. She rarely got much attention, which suited her well, but for some reason Percy always came to her for help. Well mostly for some potion or spell to prank someone. She had been told that he had used one of her potions to prank Lord Apollo, causing him to loose all his hair for a day. She was astonished that Percy had gotten away with that, but then again, he spent an entire week in pink clothing after that...

"Percy, what can I do for you today?"

"What? Do I always need a reason to visit my favorite witch?"

"I would say no, but you mostly come to me when you need something. So what is it this time?" She looked expectantly at him.

"How about a spell to teach our self-proclaimed twerp... I mean leader, that being big-headed is not a very good trait to have."

"And what will I get for doing this? He is on our team, so casting a spell on him can end with me getting punished. Why should I take that risk?" Lou asked sceptically.

Percy smirked now, since he had expected her reaction. "Well if you are caught I will take full responsibility for this... prank." She did not look satisfied by that, so he continued. "And I will take you with me on my next adventure, whenever Apollo will deem me ready to leave camp again. Come on, I know that you want to leave the camp, every camper here does."

"Who said that I want to leave?"

"The fact that you are a very curious person and that leaving the camp will be a good opportunity to test some of your more destructive spells." Percy knew that he had her, when he saw the thoughtful look on her face. Some of the campers would give their dearest possessions for a chance to do a quest for the gods. And Percy was known to be the most likely demigod to receive an assignment from them.

"Fine. But you better keep your word or else I will show you that Lady Artemis isn't the only woman that can turn men into animals."

"Don't worry, I always keep my word." Percy assured her, before he walked away, whistling a merry tune. His mood was far better now. He would get some action by fighting other campers and then he would also see the little git embarrassed in front of everyone. Life was good for him. At least for now. Soon he would have to talk to someone about this trial and this blasted riddle. But not today.


	3. III

Triton watched the Capture the Flag game from some distance, his keen eyes never straying from his brother for long. Perseus had surprised him during those last few months. The boy had some skill and improved steadily under his guidance. For the first time of his life he actually started to enjoy the company of one of his mortal half siblings.

And that although he had only grudgingly come to train Percy in the first place. Usually he would have cared little about the fate of his father's other sons. But Triton was, like all children of Poseidon, unwaveringly loyal. The only exception was Orion, but Triton would hardly even acknowledge that demigod as a child of the sea. But Triton was loyal... to his mother. And when she asked him to train Perseus for the sake of an ulterior plan, he accepted without much hesitation. He trusted his mother's judgement and until now he had not regretted it. Far from it in fact. It had been a rather enjoyable diversion from his usual duties.

The distinct smell of the sea filled his nostrils, as he watched the fighting. He was no longer alone.

"Father," Triton said respectfully. He felt great disappointment for his father. How could he not after seeing the man betray his mother again and again, but he still owed his father respect. And he would never fail to show it.

"Triton," Poseidon replied, as he stood next to his son. For some moments they stood there silently, watching Percy fight.

Poseidon watched his youngest child with great interest. How often had he wanted to meet the boy, to talk to him, to solve their silent dispute. But he never found the time. The sea had been in turmoil for months. Oceanus had started to cause trouble and that took up most of Poseidon's time. And the few moments he had time to meet Percy, he watched his son, but ultimately decided against going to him. He was content to see his son safe and happy. But what he could not understand, was why his eldest son had decided to spend time with Percy.

"What brings you here, father? Have you come to observe Perseus' progress?"

"You have done a good job in training him. His mastery over water is coming along nicely, though he still has much to learn," Poseidon replied stoically. His relationship with Triton had been even colder than his relationship with Percy for many centuries. For years their relationship was merely cordial and respectful, but nothing like a father and son should treat each other. But in Triton's case he knew that he deserved that treatment.

"He is... a good student. Aphros and Bythos would enjoy teaching him. Though they would most likely beat the misbehavior out of him, that Apollo has taught him." Triton smirked. His own tutors had been far more stern than any of Percy's teachers. He knew that he was far too lenient with him. Maybe he should increase the training hours and stop treating Percy like a demigod... or maybe not. His brother's mortal side was a hindrance. Some training methods Triton had to endure would leave a mortal crippled and scarred for life.

"This is curious."

"What is curious, father?"

"You being here. You never cared for any of your mortal siblings. All of this seems... out of character for you" Poseidon looked at Triton with suspicion.

But the prince of the sea scoffed at his father's evaluation. "Teaching him is my responsibility"

"Really?"

"Yes. I am after all your son and **heir**." He especially emphasized the word heir, to remind Poseidon of this fact. Triton often felt that his father had long forgotten about his place in the sea. "My brother has become the center of attention. Many gods watch him with growing curiosity. I have to make sure that he does not bring shame to our family."

"So this is all about your reputation. And here I thought you actually cared for one of your siblings. You have never treated any of them like a brother should. Not since Rhode has faded..."

"Don't speak her name. You were not there, when she left us. You were with a mortal that night." Triton looked at his father accusingly. He saw his father shift uncomfortably. It brought him at least some satisfaction to see at least some remorse from his father. "And training Perseus is more than just an honor matter."

The situation was tense between father and son. Poseidon had realized that his relationship with both his sons had become extremely strained. He always thought that Triton would not need a overattentive father, so he stayed away from him and let him do as he pleases. He had not realized that Triton had craved the attention and acknowledgment of his father and so he had subsequently alienated his first-born. And Percy felt abandoned by him, because he always followed the ancient laws, even though some other gods are actively looking for loopholes.

The tenseness would have continued, had it not been for the timely arrival of another god, who could only be described as a child on a sugar rush in comparison to the two sea gods. "Hey ho, Triton." Apollo said, as he appeared next to the other god, an arm around Triton's shoulder in a friendly manner. Then he saw Poseidon. "Oh, and hello uncle, of course."

"Apollo..." Triton said tersely, as he removed Apollo's arm from his shoulder. "What a pleasant surprise. What brings you here?"

"Ah, the usual. Came to watch my kids and my champion beat the crap out of their opponents, before I go out for a night of debauchery. Wanna join me?"

"Charming as always, Apollo," Triton said, as he rolled his eyes. "As you can see the game is nearly over. And Perseus' team will win."

"Yeah. Percy and my kids kept the creek safe and secured."

Triton nodded. He, too, was pleased with Percy's performance. "He does well with the backup your children provide. Ariadne and William have been the most useful in that regard. They are good companions for my brother."

"They are my kids, what did you expect. They are..."

"Don't say that word," Triton growled.

"What?" Apollo asked innocently. "Awesome?"

Triton growled in annoyance. "Whatever stuff causes your upbeat attitude, you should not consume it in such quantities."

"Hey" Apollo looked indignant at Triton, but to see the other god actually smirk quickly stopped any further objections. Poseidon meanwhile backed away from the two, watching them silently, his face never betraying any emotion. Apollo and Triton barely even realized that he had left a few moments later to return to Atlantis.

"Is that a balloon?" Apollo asked, as he pointed at something flying over the battlefield.

"No," Triton answered dryly. "It's that insolent son of Athena."

"Percy?"

"Yes"

"Ah, I've never felt prouder of my champion," Apollo said proudly.

Triton sighed. "At least I can blame you for all his behavioral problems. We should go to see Chiron. Lest the old Centaur might punish Percy before I get my turn to issue an even harsher punishment. The battlefield is no place for fooling around. Not like this. He finally has to learn this. We better teach him now, before he learns it the hard way by loosing someone dear to him."

* * *

It was in the late evening hours, when Percy was finally done with his arduous punishment. Triton had him clean the forest after the Capture the Flag game. The entire forest. And he had to do it all alone. He had to pick up everything that had been left behind, weapons, armor and trash. It was a mind numbing, boring task. To make it worse the act of cleaning the forest made him really famous among the nymphs. He was sure that this was actually Apollo's secret punishment. As if the Naiads had not been enough, he now had to rile up the wood nymphs as well...

The rest of the campers were already at the campfire, by the time he had finally returned the last weapons to the armory. He couldn't believe that it had taken the entire day to do this. He had other plans for the day, but Triton was insistent. His brother knew that the worst punishment for Percy would be a dreadfully boring task like this.

He had planned to give Nico the gift from his sister today, but he wasn't even sure if Nico was still up at this hour. But then he saw the son of Hades, running around the fire, asking everyone questions. This boy was too curious for his own good. Ever since he had found out that he was the child of a god he had tried to learn everything he could.

Percy quickly ran to his cabin to fetch the Hades figurine for Nico, so he could give it to the boy and get this over with. He had promised Bianca to do it after all. And he would keep his word. So when he had the figurine, he slowly approached the boy.

"Hey, Nico." He called out. When the boy looked towards him, Percy beckoned him over, away from the other demigods. He really did not want to be seen with an action figure of Hades. That would not bode well.

"Hello, Percy." Nico said happily. "How was your day?"

"Boring and yours?"

"It was great. I spent the day learning archery from the Apollo kids. It was so great. I didn't hit the target though, but that boy, Will, said that I will improve with practice. Are you good at archery? I heard that the children of Poseidon are supposedly not very good with the bow, is that true?"

"Nico... Nico, stop. Breath at least once every minute." Percy said, as he tried to put an end to Nico's inquisitive nature. "So... I've heard that you are a fan of this whole Mythomagic stuff..."

"Yep. It's great. You can't believe how happy I was when I found out that all of this stuff is real. And..."

"Yes. Well I've been told about your collection..."

"Really? Who has told you?"

"Your sister." Percy replied before he could stop himself. He had planned to keep Bianca out of this conversation, but Nico's questions already started to cause Percy a skull splitting headache and Bianca's name just slipped out.

"You know Bianca? Do you know where she is? I haven't seen her in so long..."

"Yes, I have met your sister before. And no, I don't know where she is at the moment." No lies, Percy didn't want to lie.

"Oh..." Nico looked disappointed. Percy felt really bad for the boy. Only because of Hades stupid idea that he had to punish a ten year old for not acting like a seasoned warrior. The boy clearly missed his sister, but no one was allowed to tell him where she is and who his father really is. Percy understood now why Bianca wanted to cheer him up somehow, even though she was forbidden to go to him.

"Well, but to get back to the Mythomagic topic. I have this figurine and your sister once told me that you have the entire collection except one. Hades." How ironic. The only one that was missing was his own father...

"Yeah. I never get that one last figurine. It's frustrating."

"Well, today is your big day. I happen to have the one figurine you don't have and I want to give it to you." He pulled the figurine out of his pocket and showed it to the younger boy. The surprise on Nico's face made Percy smile. Bianca was right, this was a good way to cheer him up.

"You are giving it to me?" He asked wide eyed.

Percy nodded. "Yes. It's yours. I'm not really into all of this and only have this figurine because I... found it one day. Here." He gave it to Nico, who smiled widely.

"Thank you, thank you." Nico started bouncing around he had the figurine in his hand. "Now I have all of them, thanks to you."

"You really don't need to thank me... Thank your sister... she told me after all."

"I will. Hopefully she comes back soon."

"Yeah. She is a really nice person. It would be great to meet her again." Percy said truthfully. The girl had definitely gained his respect. Even though she was not supposed to and a god stood in her way, she still cared for her brother. Their sibling relationship was so very different from what he had with Triton. They were siblings, yes, but nowhere as close as Nico and Bianca.

"Will you come to the campfire and join the singing?" Nico finally asked, after he was done with admiring the figurine.

"Ah... no. I think I go to bed. Ariadne will kick my ass should I oversleep again tomorrow morning..."

"Is Ariadne your girlfriend?" Nico asked innocently.

"No... no, Hades no. We are friends, siblings at best... nothing romantic." Percy answered hurriedly. Apollo would do something Percy would regret, should he believe that Percy was trying to get too cozy with one of his girls. The sun-god was extremely overprotective of his daughters and his sister... while he encouraged his son's to go around and 'enjoy' themselves to their fullest. What was the word for that? Ah, yes, double moral standards...

"What is it I hear here? Thinking inappropriately about my daughter, Percy?"

Percy gulped when he turned around and saw Apollo standing behind him, a malicious smirk on his face. "Nothing, Apollo, really."

"Is that so..." He looked critically at Percy, before he looked at the younger boy behind him. "You better get back to your cabin, buddy, curfew is near." Nico left without resistance. Even the curious son of Hades knew that it was unwise to ignore the orders of a god. "Not you, Percy. You stay here."

Percy had tried to leave as well, but Apollo quickly caught him.

"So... nice evening, isn't it?" Percy asked nervously.

"I heard you have started to enjoy your time here. No more longing for action, for monster hunting?"

Percy laughed humorlessly, before he shook his head. "It's dreadfully boring. I have found a few good friends and Triton is keeping me busy whenever he is here, but..."

"But?" Apollo insisted.

"I miss my old life. Running around, hunting monsters..."

"Protecting my darling sister and her Hunters." Apollo added with a grin.

"Yeah, that, too, I guess." Then Percy sighed. "But there is something else... no, never mind, I'm sure it's nothing." He wasn't sure if it would be a wise idea to reveal this whole trial thing to Apollo. Sure, the god would be able to help him out, maybe even point him in the right direction, but the risk that other Olympians might find out about his mysterious mentor was too big.

"Go on." Apollo looked pointedly at Percy, sensing that there was something troubling his champion. "Trouble with Athena's little blighters?"

"No"

"Then what is it. Spill, Percy, I can see that something is troubling you. You know that you can't lie to me."

Percy knew that he just got caught... more or less... it was rare enough to see Apollo this serious, but whenever he acted like this, it was better to do as he says... at least as a demigod.

"I... I had this strange dream last night..."

"What kind of dream? Was it about some beautiful girl you have met?"

"No... I was in a dark corridor, feeling cold, as a strange voice spoke to me..."

Apollo looked alarmed when he heard that. "What kind of voice? What did it say?" He looked intently at Percy, demanding an answer.

"It was a woman, but I haven't seen who it was. Neither did I know the voice. But it said something... about a trial I would have to face."

Apollo looked slightly relieved when he heard that it was a female voice. That at least excluded Kronos. Several gods had heeded the warning about Kronos' rise and looked for proof to convince Zeus. But so far they had only found traces and whispers, nothing that would make Zeus see reason.

"What did it say about the trial, Percy?"

"It was like a prophecy, but... well it was a riddle."

"Tell me." Apollo demanded.

"Your first trial will lead you to sea, where monsters and myths are running free, on the island of deception you will find the key, to set a sister from her torment free, but blood will be shed and lives will be lost, as an oath will be broken despite the cost." Percy recited the riddle word for word. Apollo was the god of prophecy after all, so maybe he could help.

"It was not a prophecy issued by my oracle. But who else would..." Apollo looked miffed at first, before his expression turned to a concerned frown. "This is troubling, Percy. Have you told anyone about this?"

"Not yet..."

"Good. Tell no one. Not even Ariadne." Apollo ordered quickly. "We live in a dangerous time, Percy. People don't just have visions or receive prophecies for no good reason. I have to talk to some of the other gods about this. For whatever reason you had this vision, it has to be something big."

"Wait... you think that this was a real vision?" Percy asked astonished. He was sure that most people would have declared him insane, had he claimed that he had visions of some sort. But Apollo obviously believed it without questioning.

Apollo placed a hand on Percy's shoulder, before he said with utmost confidence. "Percy, my young friend, I've known that you were unlike most other demigods. And the day I barred you from becoming the child of a great prophecy, I knew that the Fates would only bestow an even greater destiny on you."

"The Fates... you mean those old crones?" Percy remembered them well, from when he met them on the train.

"Yeah. You met them before?"

"While I was on the run with Grover. They said that I had defied fate... I'm still not sure how exactly I am supposed to have done that."

Apollo looked concerned for a moment. Then he shook his head. "They must have meant me. I made sure that you are not the child of the Great Prophecy. Maybe they had intended for you to be the one to fulfill that prophecy. Well too bad, you're my champion now and I won't hand you over to those old crones." Apollo said with a confident smirk. "But as I said, I have to talk to the other gods. This is very important, Percy. Continue as normal until I return. And do not tell anyone about this." Before Percy could answer anything, Apollo had already vanished in a blinding light.

Percy looked towards the sky with trepidation. The sun was long gone and the moon stood high at this hour. "I'm so screwed." He said with a sigh. He had made a mistake. He shouldn't have confided in Apollo. Now the gods would find out and they would ask questions. And when the gods ask questions they demand answers or else he would be in deep trouble. Oh this wouldn't end well.

* * *

**A/N: And that concludes chapter three. Hope you all liked it.**

**I believe a few words about Poseidon are needed here. Even though it may seem different at the moment, I really don't hate Poseidon. In fact he is one of my favorite gods. But matter of factly I believe that people see him as a far better person than he actually is. Just let me explain my reasoning in a few sentences. Most readers of the PCO books believe that Poseidon is the best example of how gods should treat their children, but they are blinded by the fact that we mostly see him interact with only one of his children, Percy, who is his favorite son at that time. Some would say it easy to have a favorite son, when he has only one living demigod child. But he still has his firstborn son, Triton. Triton is proud of his heritage, yet he feels the need to emphasize that he is Poseidon's heir. Both because he wants to show off in front of Percy, but also because he feels the need to remind his father of this fact, because of the blatant favoritism. There are many more little facts that show that Poseidon is not even nearly as good as people want him to be, but I believe I've said enough for now.**

**That's all for today. Percy's big adventure will start next chapter...**


	4. IV

Apollo paced through his temple on Olympus, waiting impatiently for Hermes to return with the other gods he had called for. He knew it wasn't easy, but he was sure that it was necessary to keep Percy's vision as secret as possible. He did not want Zeus or even worse, Athena to hear about it. They would only cause trouble and jump to the worst possible conclusions. He really did not want another debate about whether Percy should be killed.

Athena's last attempt resulted in a huge headache for all gods and goddesses involved. She was more than angry about Percy's actions against her children at camp, especially after he had embarrassed several of her beloved sons and daughters in front of everyone. Apollo was sure, that she would have tried to harm Percy directly, had it not been for the interference of other gods and goddesses.

By Zeus order, Percy had become a ward of Artemis, one of the goddesses Athena respected the most. So this at least deterred her. And that Triton had obviously taken an interest in his brother, was a reason for Athena to be cautious. She really did not want to incur his wrath, far from it in fact. Apollo was sure that Athena still regretted the day she had lost his trust...

The first gods arrived soon. Both Poseidon and Triton among the first. Much to Apollo's surprise Amphitrite was there as well, most likely at the behest of her son. But she was obviously not opposed to being here. Most curious.

Artemis came next, a deep scowl on her face. It was easy to see that she was not at all happy about being called away from her Hunters. But since this concerned Percy she had to be involved.

The last to arrive were Hermes and Hephaestus. The latter had become rather fond of Percy after he had seen the boy interact with his children. Most demigods regarded his children as oddballs and paid them only little attention. But Percy showed them respect and treated them like friends.

"So..." Apollo said, as he saw the group. "Now that we are all here..."

"Why did you call us here, Apollo? This better is important, I can't leave my Hunters every time you want to talk," Artemis said curtly.

"To keep his short, this is about Percy."

"What about my son?" Poseidon asked worriedly. He ignored the scoff from Triton when he said son, instead focusing on Apollo.

"Percy had a vision of sorts..."

"A vision? Children of the sea don't have visions." Amphitrite interjected sharply. "Could it have been just a bad dream or something like that?"

Apollo shook his head. "No. Though my blessing does not give him the power to receive real visions, I have reason to believe that he got a vision from an outside source."

"You mean Kronos? That he tries to influence Percy like he did with my son," Hermes said calmly. Unlike all other gods he still hoped that his son was actually innocent, that Kronos controlled him against his will.

"No, Hermes. Not Kronos. But the fates... they were quite displeased when I made him my champion and warned both me and Percy that he would still be forced to endure a greater destiny. It is my believe that they try to force a new destiny on him by giving him such visions."

"You... this is your fault, Apollo. You had to go and make him your champion. You should have allowed him to live a normal life, like a normal mortal boy, until he was ready to go to Camp Half-blood. You..."

"The boy would have been long dead, My Lord," Amphitrite said almost coldly. "His life is not yours to control. You have lost all right to that the day you decided to ignore him."

"And why would you care, Amphitrite? You never liked any of my demigod children."

"He is a child of the sea and because of that he is my responsibility as well. And Perseus is, in fact, the first of your half-blood sons that has not yet done anything to warrant my disdain. In fact he is quite likable. One of the reasons why our son decided to sacrifice his valuable time to train him," Amphitrite looked at her husband with an almost pitying expression. "You should allow him to become a hero worthy of recognition and stay out of his life. Allow him this, My Lord."

Poseidon wanted to say something, anything after this, but his words failed him. He knew that he made mistakes while raising his children, but he never did it out of malice or negligence.

"Enough of this," Artemis said to end the uncomfortable silence that descended upon the room. "Apollo, what exactly was Perseus vision about?"

"A trial. Almost like a challenge," Apollo recounted the riddle word for word, the expressions of the other gods darkening with every line. "And that's it. I believe we should take this seriously."

"At least we know where it will happen," Hermes said thoughtfully. "The Sea of Monsters no doubt. It is the only place where sea monsters run free. But I have no idea what the island of deception is supposed to be..."

"And what sister is meant? Perseus does not have a living sister," Apollo wondered aloud.

"He doesn't, does he, My Lord?" Amphitrite asked her husband with a pointed glare. But Poseidon shook his head. All of his daughters were either dead or monsters.

"Indeed. Rhode has faded long ago. And the visions speaks about something tormenting this sister. It is quite the mystery," Triton said, "And the line about bloodshed and death is most disconcerting. Maybe it is about the fight against Kronos servants."

"Perseus is too young to fight and kill. He shouldn't even have to fight against monsters," Poseidon said strongly.

"Our half-brothers have started fighting around the same age as him. In ancient Greece they have faced worse dangers than today," Triton commented with a glare directed at his father. "You may have had your reasons for staying away from Perseus, but do not insult him by doubting his ability to survive in this world."

"And what about this broken oath? Does this mean that he will betray us?" Artemis looked grimly. She somehow doubted that Percy would actually betray them, but what oath would be broken and why?

"Percy is loyal beyond any doubt. It is his fatal flaw after all. No, this has to be about some other oath. Maybe someone else will break his or her oath."

"It doesn't matter right now. We can guess as much as we want, but the question we have to answer is far more simple. Should we allow Percy to go to the Sea of Monsters so he can fulfill this trial?" Triton asked. All other gods around him looked thoughtful.

"We should not meddle with the Fates... not again at least," Apollo said. The others simply nodded.

"Yes. But since this is not a real Quest I will go with my brother," Triton added. His mother showed her consent with a slight inclination of her head, while Poseidon looked almost speechless to see both his eldest son and wife act in favor of one of his demigod children. In the past they had been nothing but resentful towards the half-bloods.

"Well I'm sure a few of my kids will want to tag along. Ariadne for sure, maybe Will and Michael as well. They have become quite fond of him."

"How can you possibly allow your champion to endanger Ariadne like this?" Artemis looked angrily at her brother. Though Ariadne had decided against becoming a Hunter, Artemis still cared for her niece. The thought to allow her to follow the son of Poseidon on such a dangerous adventure did not sit well with her.

"Ari will be fine. Percy will protect her, he gave his word and that actually means something."

"Still. I will keep a close eye on that... excursion."

"Well you can travel with them if you want," Apollo smirked at Artemis, knowing that she would never do that.

"I won't. I have my other girls to look after and I won't send them to that blasted camp for an unknown period of time. My lieutenant will go in my stead. She will be my eyes and ears. And she will make sure that your champion won't endanger Ariadne needlessly."

"I'm sure he will be delighted to have Zoe around. We all know how well they got along during their last vacation in Las Vegas." Apollo smirked as he saw his sister's anger. She did not like to be reminded of that incident. Though she could not fault Percy even if she wanted to, she still did not like it in the slightest, that Percy got this close to Zoe.

"I will help as well" For the first time during this meeting, Hephaestus spoke. "With such a group they will need a big enough boat. I will give them a swimming home away from camp. And my eldest son shall join Percy, both to keep an eye on the boat and to help where he can."

"Thanks, Heph, your help is very much appreciated. So this settles it, Percy will go with his friends to face this trial, whatever it may entail. The rest of us will simply have to keep our eyes and ears open. Thank you all for coming." Apollo quickly vanished to tell Percy about all of this, so his champion could prepare for the journey.

The other gods left as well, until only Poseidon and Triton remained. The latter wanted to leave as well, but his father stopped him. "Triton, wait."

"Yes, father?"

"Triton, I know I haven't been the best father to my children, but I still care for all of you. And I can't tell you how happy I am to see you get along with your brother. It is much more than I could have hoped for."

Triton looked astonished for a moment. He really had not expected this. Ever since he had started training Percy he had wondered what he actually despised more. The way his father did not show him the attention he had craved in the past or the fact that Poseidon had cheated on his mother again and again. In neither case he could fault his brother for this. His father was at fault... always. But for a moment Poseidon looked like he genuinely cared for his children, a stark contrast to the way he had acted in the past.

Poseidon suddenly had something in his hand, a small bronze... pen. Triton looked at it curiously, before his father offered it to him. "Take it, give it to Perseus."

"He won't need any gifts from you. I'm not even sure whether he would accept it." Despite his words he took the pen and uncapped it. To his surprise it turned into a magnificent sword. "Interesting. But he already has a very good and rare weapon. A gift from Apollo and relic of your dearest son-in-law."

"I know. But I am sure that he will find a use for this sword as well. It's name is Anaklusmos and it will serve a child of the sea well."

Triton looked at the sword curiously. A weapon for a child of the sea. He still remembered the day when his father gave him his own Trident. One of his dearest memories, a rare moment in the past when he and his father had been close. Could he deny Percy such a gift? His mother wouldn't like it, it would be a chance for Poseidon to reconnect with his estranged son... It was quite the moral dilemma. He didn't say anything to his father before he finally left Olympus to prepare for the journey. He knew that babysitting a group of demigods would not be easy, but he would be lying should he claim that he was not curious about Percy's vision.

* * *

"You want me to do what?" Percy asked wide eyed, as he looked at Apollo. He couldn't believe what his patron had just told him to do. He had already feared the worst when he had told Apollo about this trial. But to hear that there was a group of gods that actually did want to help him was a great surprise.

But now he had to face a very different problem. He had to decide who would go with him on this trip. The only one who would definitely come along would be Beckendorf, because Hephaestus wanted him to keep an eye on the ship. But who else should come? It would be very dangerous. If the riddle from his mysterious teacher would come true, then everyone who accompanied him would be in mortal danger... well more than usual. His whole life was a mere game with his life on the line. He had to get out for a bit, so he left Apollo and went to his favorite place at camp.

"What a surprise. This has to be the first time that I come here and find you quiet and peaceful," Triton said, as he walked out of the sea.

Whenever Percy wanted to think he went to the beach. Being near the ocean calmed him, helped him think. After his brief talk with Apollo he had gone to the beach for exact that reason. Triton joined his brother and sat down next to him on the wet sand. The weak remnants of the waves crashing against their feet. "Apollo has told you everything I take it."

"Yeah..."

"Worried? Scared?"

Percy nodded. There was no denying it, he felt uneasy about this whole trial. He had faced monsters before, packs of Hellhounds and even bigger monsters like the Minotaur and the Chimera. He had always won in the end... but there had never been anything like a vision or a prophecy guiding his path. Never before had there been any certainty that someone would die... but maybe he could prevent his friends deaths. The riddle didn't say whether it would be friends or foes that had to die. But would he be ready to take lives? Killing monsters was easy, he could always tell himself that they would eventually return, reform after some time.

"Listen, Perseus, all of us are scared at least once in our lives. Gods and their children fight all theirs lives. Especially the lives of demigods are harsh and dangerous. But never loose hope. You can survive and live a long and happy life. But you have to become stronger. Only the strong can survive. But I don't mean that you have to get stronger by training and fighting. Strength comes from many sources. A strong body is worthless if the mind is weak. Fear makes you weak. Conquer your fear and you will always succeed," Triton said, as he remembered the days when he was taught that lesson by his tutors, Aphros and Bythos. Their father should have taught them this lesson, but he neither did it for him, nor was he here for Percy.

"I am not afraid of getting hurt," Percy defended himself with a childish pout. "I've got hurt countless times..."

"Mostly by angering Arty and her Hunters," Apollo appeared out of nowhere and sat down on Percy's other side. He had waited for Percy's return, but when his champion did not come, he went out to look for him. It was neither a surprise to see Percy near the ocean, nor was it a surprise to see Triton there with him.

"I blame you for that. You set me up most of the times... actually every time I met them," Percy said, before he sighed deeply. "But what I wanted to say is, that I am not afraid of something happening to me. But I don't want my friends to get hurt because of me."

"Concern for the welfare of your friends does you credit," Triton said. The more he got to know his younger half-brother, the more learned to respect the demigod. He was glad that his mother was not as vengeful as Hera. He actually did not want his brother to come to harm... the first time he felt like this about one of his father's illegitimate children. "But you also need to respect them and their strength more. Most of them are strong enough to protect themselves. Bring those who can fight, watch their backs and they will watch yours. No one can fight alone, not even to satisfy the selfless wish to protect everyone else."

"I guess you're right..." Percy sighed.

"So, have you decided whom to take along on your little adventure?" Apollo asked curiously.

"Well... yes. Beckendorf will come for sure, since his fathers wants him to." Apollo and Triton both nodded to that, as they remembered Hephaestus words during the meeting. "And I guess that no matter what I do, Ariadne will come with me."

"Of course my little sunshine will come along. She is a loyal friend and would not abandon you," Apollo said proudly. "But she isn't the only one among my kids that would like to go."

"I know. I guess Will will come as well. I would take Micheal and Kayla as well, but they are both needed at camp for the archery lessons of the other kids." He was silent for a moment, thinking about who else to take. Clarisse? Better not. Her constant wish to fight him would be troublesome, though her strength would have been a welcome addition to the group. Then he remembered his promise to a certain witch. "Lou Ellen will come as well."

"Who?" Apollo asked confused.

"A daughter of Hecate here at camp. But why her?" Triton asked.

"It's always good to have a witch around. You never know when you need someone to blow up a mountain," Percy grinned slightly. Though he was not sure whether she could actually do that, she at least claimed that some of her spells could be quite destructive. But she wasn't allowed to test them at camp, so no one knew for sure how powerful she really is.

"Strange choice, but she might prove useful," Triton conceded. So far his brother's choices had been logical in some way.

Percy looked thoughtful again, before he uttered the next name. "I would like to bring Nico as well..."

"NO," surprisingly both Apollo and Triton objected this.

"Why?"

"The boy would be a hindrance. A liability," Triton replied calmly.

"Percy, understand that the boy is not even remotely ready for an adventure such as this. He barely has any training and is too careless at the moment. Give him some years of training and then you can take him with you whenever you want, but not now," Apollo said appeasing.

Percy knew that Nico wasn't ready... maybe had allowed himself to get carried away by Triton's earlier words. For a moment he believed that it would be possible to bring Nico along and teach him how to fight... but the two gods were right, Nico was not ready yet.

"Any other suggestions?" Apollo asked, when no one spoke up again.

"No..."

"How about the daughter of Ares?" Apollo suggested. "She is strong and has already traveled with Percy."

"No, she will only cause trouble," Triton objected quickly.

"One of Athena's children to appease her a bit?"

"Over my dead body, Apollo. I won't babysit her arrogant brood," Triton said with a scowl.

"Okay, okay. Bad idea. So we have six demigods on this little vacation," Apollo stated.

Percy looked confused for a moment, before he asked, "Why six?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, my little sis has decided to send Zoe with you. She doesn't trust you with Ariadne's safety for some odd reason."

Now Percy actually paled a bit. His last adventure with Zoe had nearly ended with him getting castrated by the huntress on several occasions... There was little he could do about this. Artemis could do whatever she wanted when it came to him... well except killing him. That would even get her into trouble. But tormenting him was nothing Apollo and Triton would object as long as she did not overdo it.

Great... both his older brother and surrogate brother are sadists that like to see him squirm... he was so glad to have them.

"Alright," Apollo said, as he jumped up from the ground and removed the sand from his clothes, "I have to go, time to get back to my duties."

"What, the night is already over?" Percy said wide eyed.

"Yep. You should get back to your cabin and get some sleep. You have a big adventure ahead of you," Apollo smirked at his champion, before he flashed away. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he was sure that Percy would surpass all others. A hero that future generations would remember. Like Achilles and Odysseus. And his way to greatness would start now, accompanied by his own children.

"Apollo is right. Go to sleep, I will take care of things for now. Though I will accompany you, I am still not allowed to interfere as much as I want to. So you have to be ready and rested," Triton stood up as well and walked towards the sea, before he suddenly stopped. He took the pen his father had given him from the small satchel he had on his belt. He looked at it in deep thought. He knew his mother wouldn't like it, but it was a father's right to give his son his first own weapon... well technically Apollo had given Percy his first weapons, but this would the first gift Percy had ever received from his father. He couldn't deny him that. Neither could he deny his father this small request. Even though it would be detrimental for his mother's plan.

"Perseus..." he said. His brother looked curiously at him, before he tossed the pen towards him.

Percy caught it and looked at it in confusion. "Thanks for this... pen..."

"Uncap it"

Percy did as he was told and soon he had the magnificent sword in his hand.

"Wow, thank you Triton... but I already have a sword..."

"It is not from me. It is a gift from our father. Don't loose it. Think about him whatever you want, but it is a father's prerogative to give his son a weapon. And this is a weapon befitting of a son of the sea. It is called Anaklusmos."

"Riptide..." Percy immediately translated the Greek name, as he looked at the bronze sword in wonderment. He did not really understand why his father would give him a sword, even though he knew that he already had one... but he also knew that it was impossible to understand how gods and goddesses think. But he would keep it. Not because it was gift from his father, but because Triton wanted him to. His older brother had not failed him so far and he knew that if Triton said that the sword would be useful, than it had to be true.

Triton left as Percy admired the sword. He felt good at the moment. He knew he had done the right thing when he gave Percy the sword. His mother would be angry for sure, but he didn't care right now.


	5. V

It was on an early January morning, as Percy woke up before even the sun could rise. Rare as it was for him to actually wake up on time. But this day was very important for the young demigod. Today he would leave Camp Half-blood and begin his new journey. He was so anxious that he couldn't sleep for half of the night.

This was what he wanted, what he had waited for. A chance to leave camp and to resume his former life in some way. He knew that he wasn't really free to go wherever he wanted, but just the chance to see something other than the cabins of the demigod camp was a welcome change.

He had already packed all of his sparse belongings. He had left most of his clothes and other belongings at Apollo's safe-house in Queens, bringing only the bare essentials with him. He had done so for two small reasons. Since he knew beforehand that he would have to wear a camp shirt most of the time, he had not brought much of his own clothing. And Apollo had warned him before, that Hermes' kids were both crafty and thieving. He did not want to risk any of the things Apollo had given him over the years. As much as he liked the Hermes campers, he just wouldn't allow them to get close to any things he held dear.

Percy felt giddy now. Soon he would see the boat that Hephaestus had promised them. He wondered what it would be. Most likely some wooden ship; like those of the ancient Greeks. But no matter what, as long as it would take them to the Sea of Monsters, he would be glad. The ship would take him to freedom... it would take him home, to the sea. He couldn't deny that Poseidon was his father, as he felt nowhere as safe and happy as he did in the sea.

With his bag slung over his shoulder he quickly left the Poseidon Cabin, a slight spring in his steps. He nearly bumped into two other campers that had come to his cabin to wake him up. Both Ariadne and Will looked surprised to see Percy. They had not expected him to be awake this early.

"Good morning, you two. Ready for our grand escape from camp boredom?" Percy said with a wide grin.

"Sure," Will replied, "I have not left camp since... well in fact this will be the first time since I came here. This will be so..."

"Awesome?" Percy supplied. Will was so much like Apollo, that he actually expected the same mannerisms from the boy. The same looks, the same blond hair, blue eyes. The same upbeat character.

"I wanted to say cool, but awesome works as well," Will said with a laugh.

"And why are you up this early, Percy?" Ariadne asked, "I had expected that we would be forced to drag you out of bed kicking and screaming." Oh how much she would have loved to do that. It was always fun to wake up Percy Jackson, the one demigod who could sleep through storm without waking up once.

"Nah, not on this big day. I want to enjoy this to the fullest"

"Well it makes our job much easier," Ariadne looked around for a moment, as if she was looking for someone specific. But this early in the morning she was alone with Percy and her brother.

"I have a... request, Percy," She said carefully.

"Shoot," Percy replied with a curious expression.

Ariadne seemed to consider her words for a moment, before she said, "I would like for us to take someone else with us as well... but I am not sure whether you will like her..."

"Her?" Percy and Will asked simultaneously, though they did it for different reasons. Percy was surprised, Will sounded almost... eager. It was no surprise either, as Will was not just a carbon copy of his father in looks, but also in his demeanor and mannerisms. It was eerie sometimes and Percy often wondered if Will is real or whether Apollo has found a way to hide himself among his children under the guise of Will Solace.

"Not Clarisse, everyone but her," Percy said with a groan.

"No, no. I wouldn't take that virago with us unless it was absolutely necessary. No, I mean a daughter of Aphrodite."

Will grinned like a madman when he heard that, but Percy couldn't help but frown slightly. "Do you really need a living punching bag? I really don't want to piss off any more gods at the moment."

"I do not dislike her. She is in fact the only child of Aphrodite that I do not wish to throttle at the moment," Ariadne assured him.

"Who is she? Hopefully she is pretty and single," Will asked his sister.

"All daughters of Aphrodite are pretty in some way," Percy remarked, "But to hear that you of all people want one of them to come with us... didn't you try to shoot that one girl... what was her name again?"

"Drew," Will said.

"Ah, yes. Drew," Percy tapped his chin with his index finger in a thoughtful manner, "So now I am confused why you want one of them to come with us."

"Because it would be profitable and..." Ariadne paused for a moment, before she mumbled something unintelligible.

"What?"

"I said that I owe..." Ariadne looked annoyed, especially when her brother started snickering. She shoved Will away, causing him to stumble and fall on his ass, before she elaborated, "After that incident with Drew she kept her siblings from retaliating and I... owe her one for that, I guess. And when she heard that I would go with you on an adventure together with a larger group, she asked me to allow her to join us."

"Why the Hades does a doll want to go on an adventure, that will be this dangerous, possibly lethal even?" It made no sense what so ever.

"I don't know. But she seems intent on coming along. She is at least one of the few dolls that will be more than just a burden..."

Percy looked unconvinced at his friend. He knew that Ariadne was quite prideful. It was also common knowledge how little she thought about the Aphrodite Cabin. For her to ask this...

"Well... fine. But I won't be held responsible for any problems caused by her. She will be your problem during our adventure," Percy relented finally. "So, who is she?"

"Silena, Silena Beauregard, one of the senior members of the Aphrodite Cabin..."

"Then go and get her. We will head towards the shore, maybe Hephaestus boat is already here. Can't wait to see our new home," Percy said giddily, before he and Will continued their trek towards the shore. Ariadne meanwhile approached the pink building she loathed the most at the camp.

* * *

"Percy is that?"

"Yes, Will. I believe it is," Percy grinned widely when he saw Hephaestus gift.

"A yacht? By the gods, he gives us a yacht?" Will shouted giddly, before he started bouncing around, aking his very own version of a happy dance.

"What did you expect, sonny?" Apollo appeared next to them, a pleased look on his face. "Heph is a good guy. He made sure that my champion and my kids will travel with style and comfort."

"Well I expected something more... ancient... militaristic maybe..." Will said, as he looked at his father. Until a few months ago he had barely ever seen his dad, but ever since Percy and Ariadne had come to Camp Half-blood, the sun-god had become a regular visitor. Officially he was visiting only his champion, but he always met his kids as well. It was another reason why the Apollo campers had come to like Percy so much. He gave their father a loop-hole that allowed him to see his kids, though all of them knew that Zeus and Hera wanted to get rid of this particular loop-hole. But none of the other gods felt inclined to follow Zeus' wishes.

"Heph isn't like Ares. Only that blockhead would place you on some battleship. Since we don't know how long your little excursion will take, we have decided to give you something more fitting. A home away from home." Apollo padded both Percy and Will on the shoulders, before he flashed all three of them to the yacht.

The two demigods looked around in wonderment, before they started to explore the boat. Before they got far, Beckendorf opened a nearby hatch and climbed out. He looked dirty, grime on his face and hands. But he looked content, happy even. Such a boat and especially its engine must be the most exiting thing he had seen in all his years at Camp Half-blood.

"Hey, Beckendorf. Checking the boats engines already?" Percy asked, as he approached the son of Hephaestus.

"This is a good ship with a solid engine. It will serve us well," Beckendorf said proudly. This was a gift from his father and it made him proud that he has been chosen to safeguard it.

"Your dad is great. With this boat we will reach the Sea of Monsters in no time." Percy replied, as he peered inside through one of the portholes.

"What about the accommodations? Will everyone get a cabin of his own?" Will asked.

Beckendorf shook his head. "No, it is not big enough for six whole cabins. There is only the captain's cabin and two crew cabins with four bunks each."

"Bunk beds?" Will groaned. "I'll call first dibs on the large cabin!"

"No you won't!" Percy said quickly.

"Oh come on..."

"Stop whining, Will. My Trial, my cabin!"

"You two are so cute, arguing like an old couple," Apollo said, before he started laughing uproariously.

Percy grumbled for a bit, before a silver light demanded his attention. Much to his surprise Lady Artemis had appeared on the boat, not far from him and the others. She looked disapprovingly at the four men before her. She almost glared when she saw her smirking brother and Percy standing next to each other. Then Percy saw the girl next to the goddess. Zoe Nightshade stood there, looking annoyed, her eyes never leaving Percy for long.

"Good to see you, little sis," Apollo greeted his sister happily. "Have you reconsidered joining this awesome adventure?"

Artemis ignored Apollo though and walked towards Percy. She stopped only a few feet away from him, as she glared at the son of Poseidon. Percy had a hard time resisting the urge to jump into the sea at that moment.

"Jackson..."

"His name is Percy, little sis. No need to be so formal," Apollo said with a grin. He knew that it annoyed his sister to see him smirk like this, but this only made it more fun. He loved to annoy her.

"Perseus..."

"Percy! Come on, say it. Percy..." Apollo interrupted her again. But this time the goddess retaliated and shoved her brother hard. For a moment he lost his balance and fell over the reeling and into the sea with a loud splash. All demigods chuckled at that, but Percy stopped immediately when the goddess looked at him again.

"Perseus Jackson... I don't know what you are planning, but I am warning you. Do not endanger my niece needlessly."

"I always keep an eye on Ariadne, don't worry." Percy assured her.

"Hey, why do I feel so cheap all of a sudden. I'm a child of Apollo as well." Will whined loudly. Artemis glared at the boy, who looked like a carbon copy of her brother. And Will... he did the only sensible thing in that situation and retreated. Quickly.

"My niece will not come to any harm or else..."

"Mythical bunny deer, I know..."

"Zoe, "Artemis said. Her lieutenant was immediately by her side. "Should this boy act disrespectful or should he endanger Ariadne, you will neuter him." Zoe nodded immediately, much to Percy's growing unease.

"With pleasure, Lady Artemis." Zoe grinned almost maliciously.

A golden flash blinded them for a short moment, as Apollo reappeared next to Percy, dripping wet and obviously flustered. "That was not cool, sis." He looked slightly miffed for a moment, before his grin returned. "Percy, would you kindly?"

Percy waved with one hand and used one of the most basic tricks of water control he had learned from Triton. With it he willed Apollo dry, as he removed all water from his clothes and hair.

"Thanks buddy." He padded Percy on the shoulder, before he left.

"Heed my warning, Perseus." Artemis said, before she disappeared as well, leaving only Zoe behind with the demigods.

"So... now that all adults are gone, how about a little celebration? We are about to embark on a great adventure after all..." Percy said. Beckendorf looked at him with an arched eyebrow, before he disappeared through the same hatch he had come out before. And since Will had run away due to Artemis glare, Percy was all alone with Zoe now.

"Don't even think about it." Zoe said coldly.

Percy chuckled and shook his head. "You misunderstand my intentions, Zoe. This entire trip will be very dangerous and we might not have the chance to enjoy ourselves in the near future."

Her expression softened slightly as she heard his words. She couldn't deny that he was right. Percy could see the concern in her dark eyes and the tenseness in her body language. As a Hunter she should be used to danger, but it was obvious that Artemis had told her lieutenant about the entire trial... and the riddle.

"Does Lady Artemis hate me really this much?" Percy finally asked, "I mean she always glares at me and treats me like I am some kind of... enemy..."

Zoe looked intently at him, obviously considering what she should tell him. "It is complicated... I don't think that she hates you. She just does not trust you with Ariadne's life."

"Well that's a relief," Percy said sarcastically.

"Understand what Ariadne means to my mistress. Lady Artemis cannot have children due to her oath. All she has are her Hunters, her wards and attendants. But Ariadne is different."

"Could you please elaborate on that? I mean there has to be a reason for this."

"It's not my place to tell," Zoe said calmly. She looked towards the nearby coast, her eyes following the movements of the campers that have come to see the traveling party off.

Percy was confused by her answer. He could not really understand why Ariadne was this special to Lady Artemis. "She won't be harmed, I promise. She is a good friend, my closest friend that isn't a god, so I will protect her with my life if necessary." Percy assured the huntress.

Zoe actually allowed herself a tight lipped smile when she heard his words. "Let's hope that you won't break that promise, else you won't have to worry about Lady Artemis, because I will kill you on the sport. Are we clear?"

"Crystal..." Percy said, feeling uneasy again.

* * *

Less than an hour later the journey began. When Triton had come to guide them, six demigods and one huntress were already present, awaiting his orders. But the heir of Poseidon did not issue orders, he put Percy in charge and accepted the role of an adviser, stating that Percy would have to learn how to lead, if he wished to fulfill any useful role in the coming war.

Soon they had lost sight of the camp and all the other demigods who had watched them leave. The reactions of the other children at camp were mixed. Those who knew about the danger of the adventure, like the Apollo and Hephaestus cabins, did not like to see them leave, for they feared for their lives. But others, like the children of Athena, grumbled about not being chosen to come along. Especially Malcolm could be heard muttering that this 'quest' had already failed, since they had not even considered taking a child of the wisdom goddess with them. The hubris that plagued him and his siblings blinded him to the fact, that many quests had been completed without involving Athena.

But to the demigods on the boat it made no difference. They were all looking forward to the challenges ahead of them. Percy was soon alone on deck, as he watched the coast pass by. Though it was clear that Poseidon would not allow any harm to befall the boat while it traveled over the sea, they still kept close to the coast for as long as they could. But soon they would have to leave the land behind, if they wished to reach the mystical Sea of Monsters.

"You look thoughtful, again, brother," Triton said, as he joined Percy. "Care to enlighten me why exactly you have brought one more demigod than we had agreed on?"

"Oh... it's not that easy, you know. It all started with Ariadne's dislike of anything connected to Aphrodite and..."

"Stop, Percy, stop. I've reconsidered, I don't want to know." Everything that had to do with the love goddess usually ended with a headache for all other gods involved. Add one of Apollo's children to that equation and you get more trouble than you could bear.

"How long do you think it will take us to reach the Sea of Monsters?" Percy asked curiously.

"A day at least, maybe two. It will mostly depend on whether or not we will be interrupted on our trip. Some monsters stray from their usual dwellings and haunt the sea, but I hope that we won't see any of them. And worst case would be a run in with Oceanus or one of his cronies," Triton said, as he looked out on the sea with a content smile. Here, away from the land, the sea god felt at home.

"Is Oceanus really that bad?"

"He is the ancient arch enemy of our father. Ever since the Titan war our father and Oceanus have been constantly fighting for control over the sea. They will always be enemies until one of them fades."

"Like our father and Athena?"

"Worse... but don't speak her name. That woman means nothing but trouble," Triton said with a frown.

Both brothers remained silent for some time, both looking at the sea, relishing in the soothing effect it had one them. Here they were at home, the sea would not harm them. But that was not the case for the rest of Percy's group.

A sudden yelp shattered the silence, before a blond boy ran past them with a frightened expression. Percy could only guess what had frightened Will like this, but there was no need for guessing. Moments later an irate Zoe appeared, bow in hand, an arrow already notched.

"Come back, you pig. I'll show who is the baby here" Zoe yelled. Will barely escaped the next arrow, as he jumped into the sea, hopeful that his friends would help him somehow.

Percy and Triton only watched the scene, clearly amused. Though Triton muttered 'Idiot' under his breath. To him Will was as much a fool as Apollo, but he could clearly see why Percy befriended the boy. Will would have his back in any fight and that was worth much more than Percy could ever fathom.

"Zoe, calm down. I really don't want you to kill my friends. And whatever it was, I'm sure that Will did not mean it the way you understood it." Percy tried to appease the huntress, though he quickly realized that placing a hand on her shoulder was not the best decision he had made so far. Though she hesitated for some moments, she ultimately knocked the offending hand away. She took a deep breath to calm herself, before she turned around to look for Ariadne and the other girls.

Triton meanwhile created a small wave that lifted Will high enough for him to climb out of the water by himself.

"Just what did you do to piss her off on the first day of our journey?" Percy asked with sigh.

Will looked sheepish for a moment, before he defended his actions, "I merely asked Lou whether she was happy to be with us, but Zoe accused me off... what did she call it again... ah yes, impure intentions towards a maiden."

"And?"

"And... I told her to calm down..." Will turned around, unable to look at the others., "Guess she didn't like that in the slightest..."

"Will, just stay away from Zoe for... ever. She isn't a big fan of your dad and often threatens him with dismemberment. Lady Artemis gave her permission to shoot at her brother whenever she feels like it. She can't really harm a god, but it is different for you. And with you looking so much like your dad..." Percy left his sentence hang, as it was obvious that everyone understood what he had implied.

"Triton?" Percy asked suddenly.

"Yes, Percy?"

"Is that a cruise ship over there?"

"Yes, Percy. There are many cruise ships on the sea. This won't be the last we get to see on our excursion." Triton said with a disinterested tone. Another ship wasn't that big a deal to him. He saw more ships, on the waves and below, than he could count.

"But why isn't it moving? And why is that monster swimming in circles around it?" Percy asked alarmed. Something wasn't right, that cruise ship was anything but normal.


	6. VI

Seven demigods watched warily, as the cruise ship got closer and closer. None of them could say why, but they felt a disturbing presence from that ship. Something so insanely powerful that this feeling was almost palpable. But it wasn't that feeling alone, it was also the fact that the ship did not move and that until moments ago a sea serpent swam in circles around the ship.

But the monster was gone now. Triton, in his role as prince of the sea, had jumped into the ocean, to see if there were more such monsters. Sea monsters mostly meant one thing. Oceanus or one of his lieutenants was near. Triton had sworn to fight against Oceanus to his last breath, to protect his father's domain and all their subjects from the tyranny of the Titan's rule.

The serpent had disappeared almost momentarily. Running away or getting killed, it mattered little to the demigods. Their attention was still drawn to the giant ship before them. Curiously enough they could see people on the ship, mortals as it seemed. But none of them had noticed the boat that got closer yet.

"So, what should we do now?" Ariadne asked curiously. It was plain obvious that she wanted to get closer to that ship, so she could explore it for a bit. She had been bored to death at Camp Half-blood and had not hesitated a moment, when Percy offered her a place on this adventure. And now this cruise ship was the first exciting thing that had happened to them.

"Hey, Percy, look at the name of that ship," Will said, as he pointed towards the bow of the ship.

"Princess Andromeda, how ironic," Zoe said, "Perseus and Andromeda, will you try to safe this Andromeda from yet another giant monster?"

Percy chuckled as he heard her words. Of course he remembered the tale of his namesake, Perseus, the son of Zeus. It had been one of his favorite tales, since it had something, that most other tales of heroes lacked... a happy end for the hero.

"Sadly I am out of Medusa heads, so I would rather not run into Keto at the moment, thank you very much. But I am curious about that ship. I say we take a closer look," Percy said enthusiastically.

"You are in charge, so it is your decision," Beckendorf said, "But I would rather stay on our boat, to keep it safe.

"Sure, Beckendorf, I don't mind. I will go to the ship... Ariadne, Lou, you come with me. The rest will watch the ship." Ariadne nodded, a wide grin on her face. Lou looked stoically, unfazed by Percy's decision.

But two others in their group did not like to be left out. Will pouted like a little child that had been denied his candy, before he protested loudly, "Come on, you can't leave me on this ship, bro. I want to go, too."

"Sorry, Will, but one of us has to stay here. You're in charge while I'm gone, okay?" Will seemed to evaluate Percy's words. He seemed rather pleased all of a sudden. To be left in charge was a welcome honor. He finally nodded.

But that did not take care of the last remaining person, who would not accept Percy's order. Zoe frowned deeply, before she spoke, "Don't you even dare to think that I would allow you to lead Ariadne into a possibly dangerous place without me. I will come along, end of discussion."

Percy looked at her for some moments, searching for any sign whether she could be persuaded to stay. But he only saw determination in her black eyes. He knew he couldn't deny her anything for some reason. He was sure that he was just waryy of arguing with her. And offending Zoe would mean to offend Artemis. And no male ever survived the anger of the moon goddess, except her brother.

"So... let's go," Percy said happily, as their boat bumped slightly against the side of the cruise ship. Curiously enough a rope ladder was lowered for them, but they couldn't see who had done it. For all they knew it could be a trap. Or a mortal crew member who had seen them.

Percy was the first to climb up. He was wary, his hand always ready to grab Apollo's amulet, which contained his weapons. He almost leaped onto the deck as he had reached the end of the ladder, his hand now firmly on his amulet. But what he saw surprised him.

There were many mortals around them, but none seemed to see him. Nor did they see the two Dracaenae that flanked a wiry, black-haired boy, whose left eye was covered by a black eye-patch. Even a fool would have realized that the boy was far from normal. Percy was sure that the boy must be a demigod... and strangely a demigod who fights alongside monsters.

Lou was the next to reach the end of the ladder, as she joined Percy. But there was still no sign of Ariadne and Zoe. Percy was actually glad that they didn't show up. He had the bad feeling that he was in a really bad position right now. He might be able to escape by jumping into the ocean, the sea wouldn't hurt him. But Lou had no such luck. Jumping down from such a height alone would hurt her, getting her out of the water afterward, especially with the possibility of sea monsters nearby, would be very hard.

"Percy Jackson, we've been waiting for you. Our master requires your presence," the one-eyed boy spoke silkily. The two monsters next to him moved towards Percy and Lou, hissing menacingly at the two demigods.

"Well, you obviously know my name, which is good... I think. And this lovely girl next to me is my friend Lou Ellen. Oh and while we are all introducing ourselves, who might you be?"

"Ethan Nakamura, son of Nemesis," the boy replied.

"And your master would be...?"

"Stop asking redundant questions. I don't have the time to waste it on the likes of you." Ethan grumbled. It was obvious that he was in no mood for idle chatting.

"So what now? Will you bring us to the mystery man or will he come here?"

"Follow me. And keep your hands away from your weapons or else you will not like the outcome," Ethan said, before he turned around disappeared through a nearby hatch. The two Dracaenae escorted both Percy and Lou, as they followed the boy in some distance.

* * *

No one saw the black haired head of a huntress, as she peered onto the deck. Once all monsters and other demigods were gone, Zoe and Ariadne finished climbing up the ladder. They had heard Percy's short exchange of 'pleasantries' with Ethan and realized what was going on. Zoe had acted immediately and hidden her presence and that of Ariadne, so the enemy would not know about their presence.

"Zoe..."

"I know, Ariadne. We have to save Lou...," Ariadne looked pointedly at Zoe, an unspoken accusation passing between them as their eyes met, "And that idiot, too, I guess."

"Monsters and demigods working together... do you think that they might be servants of Kronos?"

"Likely. Our mistress was most unsettled by the fact that some demigods she had watched over had disappeared and likely joined the other traitor. Some girls Lady Artemis had considered for the Hunt, had decided to go and join the enemy of Olympus." Zoe said darkly. She would not show them any leniency.

The two girls hurried to get away from their entrance point, lest an enemy might see them. They had no intention to get captured as well. Luckily there had only been mortals around, so their presence remained undetected... for now. They tried to follow Percy and Lou, but their enemies were everywhere. Monsters roamed through the hallways, passing by the mortals who did not seem to see the beasts at all.

They saw several demigods as well, but none of them paid the two girls any attention. They must have thought them to be simple guests on the ship, not seeing them for what they truly are. Lucky enough for Zoe and Ariadne mere demigods had no ability to sense other demigods. Only mannerisms and the things they carried with them would give away that they are no mere mortals.

"Have you seen the new arrivals?" One demigod near Zoe said casually, as he looked at his compatriots around him. To them it was just idle chatting, none of them realized that they were not alone.

"Yeah, the guy looked kind of scrawny. But I wouldn't mind getting closer to that girl, she was kind of cute," another boy said.

The first demigod snorted, when he heard his partners words, "You are always after all the girls. Leave some for the rest of us, will ya. You're not the only guy on board with a healthy interest in girls, Ollie."

"What can I say, it's part of my charm. Probably the only thing my lousy mother has gifted me with. And you shouldn't be talking like that. I thought you had a girlfriend waiting for you back home." The other demigods laughed uproariously when they heard that, especially when the boy in question nearly choked on his drink and began to sputter.

"Alright, alright, I should get back to engine room now, my next shift starts soon," The boy grumbled, as he stood up.

"Yes, run back to your engines and do what your cripple of a father does best, I'll take care of the girls on the ship," Ollie said, laughing mockingly as he saw the other leave.

Ariadne had to keep Zoe back, when the Huntress pulled out a hunting knife. It was easy to see that the boys' behavior angered her greatly. The way they talked about girls made the Huntress so angry that she wanted to neuter them right on the spot. She could keep her calm in battle, but such behavior worked like a red rag to a bull for her.

"Not now, Zoe. We have to help Percy and Lou. You can use those imbeciles for stress relief later," Ariadne hissed, as she pulled Zoe further down the hall. But the moment they thought to be safe, a small pack of Hellhounds stood in their way, accompanied by an older girl.

A malicious smirk graced the girl's lips, as she took another step towards Ariadne and Zoe. The two girls backed away for a moment, but to their shock the boys from earlier had already caught up, now blocking their only exit. Ariadne looked almost frantically for an escape route, but Zoe had no intention to run. A look of shook, then anger passed on her face.

"Deianira! By the goddess, what are you doing here? You should be dead! You died, four months ago!" Zoe yelled accusingly. By now Ariadne had also realized who stood in front of them, though the girl she knew from her years with the Hunters looked completely different now. Gone was the silvery glow that all Hunters had because of Artemis' blessing. Gone was the usual hunting outfit and the low ponytail. Her clothes now were much more provocative, her black heir braided fancily. Her brown eyes had lost the warmth they once possessed.

"Zoe, Zoe, Zoe. My old friend, your harsh tone wounds me deeply. And who do we have here, Artemis favorite pet. How has life been treating you, away from your smothering aunt, dear Ariadne?"

"Answer my question, Deianira." Zoe growled, as she pulled out two hunting knifes. The demigods around them reacted immediately and readied their own weapons. The Hellhounds growled, barring their teeth.

"I have escaped the slavery to your goddess," Deianira said, as she walked past Zoe and towards Ariadne. "You out of all people here should know best what I mean. You yourself have shown me that we can get away from **her **influence. That she cannot force us to stay like she wants us all to believe. You were the first and many others will hopefully follow. No, it matters not, they will be freed once the gods are defeated." She looked at Ariadne with an almost happy smile.

"The goddess does not enslave us. She saved us, protected us, gave us a home after the world of men mistreated us, nearly killed us. Lady Artemis gave us all a new life. I still remember the day she saved you from burning to death on the streets of Chicago. And now..."

"Now I see clearly what price I had paid. I kept my life, but lost it in the same moment. She took everything away from me. My home, my family, my friends, my future, my freedom. She made me her slave." There was only hatred, loathing and disgust audible in Deianira's voice, as she spoke about Artemis.

"She cared for you, rescued your life and this is how you thank her? By joining the enemy?" Zoe growled.

Deianira only laughed, but ignored Zoe otherwise. Her attention was on Ariadne. "You, my young friend, can still make the right choice. Zoe would never consider my generous offer, but you are different. You escaped a life in hatred and misery, you made the right choice. Now do it again. Join me, Ariadne. Together we will free our sisters and put an end to their slaver. Lord Kronos will reward you greatly."

Ariadne looked taken aback by the older girl's words. "I..." She hesitated, wondering what Deianira meant. She knew little about the girl's past, but the way she spoke about it made the daughter of Apollo curious. She wanted to find out what had caused this betrayal, but she also knew that declining the offer now would lead to a fight. And she was not sure whether they would be able to beat four demigods and a pack of Hellhounds. Not to mention that many more monsters would come. Fighting was not an option at the moment.

"Time is ticking, Ariadne. What is your answer? Join us or die, a simple decision, but much more than I was given by your aunt."

* * *

Percy and Lou followed Ethan quietly, as he lead them through the endless maze of hallways on the ship. On their way they saw many monsters, crawling all over the ship. Many different kinds of monsters could be seen, simple Hellhounds, Cyclopes and even some more Dracaenae. But what surprised Percy more was the sheer number of demigods on the ship. They walked past a large room, which had been transformed into some sort of training room for Kronos army. In there he could see several dozen demigods training with monsters.

Percy had long lost his orientation inside the ship, as they finally reached their intended destination. The only thing he could tell for sure was, that they were below sea level, he could feel that much at least. The large room they had entered had to be some sort of cargo hold, though it was not filled with cargo. It was completely empty except for a pitch black stone sarcophagus in the middle. And that thing seemed to be the source of all darkness in this room. Just by looking at it the demigods could feel a cold and foreboding feeling. A dread that effected even those who followed Kronos.

"_Be wary, my champion, what you see before you is only death. Kronos has not reformed yet and he won't without help." _The voice of Percy's mysterious mentor whispered into his ear, her voice warning, admonishing. It kept Percy's mind focused on the task ahead. Escaping this ship with all of his friends, alive and in one piece.

"Welcome, Percy. Welcome to this army of the damned and forsaken," a boy said, as he walked out of the shadows on the other side of the room. Percy immediately recognized the boy as Luke Castellan, the traitorous son of Hermes.

"Luke... it's been some time. I see you got yourself an army." Percy said with a fake jovial expression.

"You need an army if you wish to fight against the gods. Those cowards still have many foolish servants that fight and die for them. But things will change," Luke said grimly, as he approached Percy and Lou. "And you, I remember you from camp. You lived in our cabin. One of the many unclaimed children of minor gods and goddesses that are treated like dirt by their parents."

"My mother does care for me, she has claimed me the day I arrived at camp." Lou replied defensively. She muttered spell, creating fireball in her hand, just in case the boy would continue to badmouth her mother.

"Ah, a daughter of Hecate. Curious that you stand on the side of Olympus, when your mother does not. Cease your futile attempts to fight, it will do you no good here."

"He is right, Lou. Stand down for now," Percy said. Lou looked at him with a deep frown. "Trust me." She relented after that and the fireball disappeared again.

"Very good. You do understand me, Percy. We have a lot in common. We both have suffered because of our fathers. We both have seen our mothers suffer because of those gods." Luke stopped next to Percy and placed a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "We are all brothers and sisters in a fight against a common enemy." He then turned towards the other demigods and monsters in the room, "Everyone else leave, I have much to discuss with our newest recruits."

Only begrudgingly the others left the room, until only Percy, Lou, Ethan and Luke were left, all of them standing around the sarcophagus now. Percy looked for a way to escape, while Lou kept an eye on Luke.

"_Do not linger here, Perseus. Kronos influence may still be marginal in this world, but it is enough to corrupt even the most loyal servants of Olympus if you stay in such a close proximity to his remains. You have to escape, now!" _The voice grew more urgent, her warning enough to unsettle Percy.

"Do not think that I trust you yet, Percy. My master knows of your true allegiance. It is only the fact that you serve only your allies, instead of all of Olympus, that preserves your life this far," Luke said with a grin. "But even you should know that you would be fighting a loosing battle. Do not waste the powers you were born with. You are destined to rule the sea, but the gods will never give you your birthright. Join us, raise the sea to fight Lord Kronos enemies and you will be rewarded beyond your imagination."

"So you still need the sea on your side. Let me guess, Oceanus has no interest in fighting for you?" Percy concluded.

"Oceanus is an arrogant fool. He believes that his petty fight against Poseidon is more important than defeating the entirety of Olympus. He does not see the bigger picture. If Olympus falls, Poseidon falls. But it does not matter, Oceanus will get his due soon enough. And you will be the one to destroy him once and for all. All you have to do is join us, Percy!"

"And my friends?"

"None of them shall come to harm, as long as they don't fight against us. You have my word on that," Luke said, one hand over his heart as he made that promise. It was no binding oath and Percy knew that very well.

"It is sad that I cannot trust the word of a known traitor. Who guarantees that you won't betray me as well. Just like you have betrayed all of your siblings at camp. Like you have betrayed your friends when you nearly caused a war by stealing the Master Bolt. Like you nearly got Annabeth killed, the only one at camp who still believes in you. Your word means nothing to me, but a warning to stop listening and get ready for combat." His hand itched towards his amulet, but several Hellhounds jumped out of the shadows around them.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. The moment you touch that amulet you and your friend will die. You disappoint me, Percy," Luke said, as he shook his head sadly. His face held a look of severe disappointment. "It seems that the sea is truly uncontrollable, but so be it. We will have to destroy you all then."

Percy lowered his hand, away from the amulet that held his sword, down towards the pocket that held his father's gift, the other sword, Anaklusmos. Luke apparently did not know about that, judging by his victorious smirk it was obvious that he believed Percy's action to be a sign of surrender.

"I am sorry, Luke, but there is one thing you still have to learn about the sea. It is both unpredictable and indomitable," He then grabbed the pen in his pocket and uncapped it, thereby revealing the long bronze sword. Before anyone could react he had already beheaded the first Hellhound and jumped towards the next. "LOU, NOW!"

The daughter of Hecate needed no more prodding. She had waited a long time for a chance to use the gifts her mother had bestowed upon her. Another monster went up in flames, as the daughter of the witch goddess unleashed her powers.

"The sarcophagus, destroy the sarcophagus," Percy yelled, as he blocked an attack from Luke.

"NO, DON'T LET THEM NEAR IT! KILL THEM!" Luke yelled enraged. Ethan was already on his way, his sword raised to strike. But he was too slow. A giant blast of fire shook the entire ship, as the sarcophagus became the target of the girls spell.

All the demigods and monsters were thrown to the ground, when the blast rumbled through the ship. Percy quickly used this situation to his advantage and jumped up. He ran to Lou and pulled her up, before he dragged her towards the hatch to leave the room.

"Stop them!" Luke yelled, as the monsters got back to their feet. The hunt was on and to all people involved it was clear that Percy and his friends would die, should they not escape the ship in time.

* * *

The explosion in the cargo hold had a widespread effect on the entire ship. Even the mortals had realized that something was amiss and started to panic. They ran through the corridors and towards the lifeboats on deck, to escape the danger they believed to be in. That chaos also allowed others to escape from their predicament.

When the mortals started to run past them, Zoe used this chance to escape. Together with Ariadne she pushed past the enemy demigods, who were confused about what had happened. But the confusion had not lasted for long, before their enemies ran after them. Several arrows whizzed past their heads, as Deianira started firing.

"Come on, Ariadne, run faster. We have to get back to the boat to warn the others!" Zoe said, her breathing ragged from running.

"But... what about... Percy and Lou?" Ariadne asked worriedly.

"They have to survive on their own. We cannot get to them and that idiot is strong enough on his own," Zoe said, as she looked over her shoulder to see their pursuers. Deianira and the other demigods were not far from them and getting closer with every passing moment.

Then Zoe almost jumped in surprise, as suddenly a door next to them burst open and two other demigods jumped out. She noted with relief that those two were not enemies, but Percy and Lou, followed by some monsters.

"You called," Percy said with an impish grin, as he ran next to Zoe. "Ah, you've been busy as well, great." He said, after he had a look over his shoulder.

"Just shut up and run, you idiot," Zoe growled.

Soon they had reached an exit. At first they could see no one outside, but then they saw the people, crowded near the lifeboats, trying to get off the ship. But the demigods paid the mortals no heed, as they ran to the reeling. They looked for their own boat near the cruise ship, but to their shock it was no longer there. It was further away, fighting off the sea-serpent they had seen earlier.

"What now?" Ariadne asked.

"Jump!" Zoe ordered sternly.

Ariadne looked at her as if she had suddenly grown a second head, "Are you crazy, look how high we are. We will never make it in one piece."

"Do it, I will catch you," Percy said, "Trust me, Zoe. I won't let any of you come to harm." He looked intently at her, sea-green eyes staring into volcanic-black. After a moment Zoe nodded and jumped, followed by Lou.

Both girls made it halfway down, before the sea water below them rose and caught them softly. As the water receded back to its normal level it pushed both of them towards their boat, to shorten the distance they had to swim.

"Go, Ariadne." Percy said. He looked tired, sweat running down his face. He wasn't used to controlling this much water at once. In fact it was the first time he did something like this. He knew he could do it, but he had no idea it would take this much out of him.

"I won't leave you here. No chance, Percy. We went to Hades together once and if I have to, I will do it again," She said determinedly. By now their enemies had caught up to them, several of them streaming out of the door they had used before. Before anyone could react Ariadne had a throwing knife pulled out from her belt and threw it at one of the approaching demigods.

They boy sank to the ground, holding his bleeding wound where the knife had hit him. Ariadne recognized him from before, he was one of the boys they had spied on before. Ollie, she believed his name to be. She looked at the boy with grim satisfaction, especially the place where she had hit him. She remembered how this boy had talked about girls and Ariadne was still very much Artemis niece and ward. The boy got his just punishment, one that her aunt would very much approve of.

"Go, now. I will follow you, I promise." Percy said, but Ariadne remained stubborn. He saw he had no other choice. He grabbed her and gave her a brief, one-armed hug, whispering in her ear, "You are the closest friend I have. I can't let them harm you, forgive me," Before she knew what he meant, he pushed her over the reeling, causing her to fall off the ship. She watched wide eyed as he looked down to her, before the sea caught her and brought her closer to the their own boat.

"Percy, this is the end of your escape. Your friends may be gone, but it is only a matter of time before we catch them, too. Just give up now and I promise you won't be harmed," Ethan said, as he approached Percy. The other demigods and monsters stayed behind.

"Enough lies for one day, Ethan. We both know that Luke will not allow me to live after destroying his precious sarcophagus. We will end this the old way," Percy said, between heavy breaths. He had to buy his friends some time or else Luke and his cronies would follow them. They had to get away. So he raised his sword again and started running towards Ethan, but before he could get close he was hit by an arrow. The silvery projectile rammed into his shoulder, causing him to stumble back, before he fell over the reeling himself.

"No!" Ethan yelled in shock. This was not what he wanted. He wanted to capture the boy, not kill him. He saw how Percy crashed into the see, after falling all the way without anything to slow him down. He turned around, looking angrily at Deianira, who still had her bow in hand, an idle expression on her face, as if nothing bad had happened. "I wanted him alive! I WANTED HIM ALIVE!" He yelled at the former huntress.

"He's not dead," Luke said, as he joined them. "He is a child of the sea. The ocean won't ever hurt him. It will heal him and spit him back out so he can have his revenge."

"Luke, what about the..."

"It is unharmed. That puny little witch was no match for our Lord's power." Luke replied. "But we need to act. We have chaos on this ship, it won't be going anywhere anytime soon. But we have some smaller boats here." Luke looked around, watching how the mortals fled the ship. "Ethan, take Deianira and some others and follow Percy and his friends. Tail them, find out what they are after. And when they find it, take it from them and kill them all."

"Are those your orders?" Ethan asked wearily.

"These are Lord Kronos orders. Are you questioning him?" Luke asked threateningly.

"I will go. But I am not happy about this." He left, followed by Deianira and three more demigods, to find themselves a boat that would be sufficient to follow Percy and his friends. At least he could hope that Luke was right and Percy was not dead. He had a feeling that this boy would be important. Maybe... maybe his mother would be able to tell him more.

* * *

Percy felt how he hit the sea. It did not hurt. It was a soft feeling, as if he was enveloped by something warm, silky. It soothed his hurting shoulder, stilled the bleeding. Here he felt complete. But he felt weak. So weak. The water did little to replenish his strength.

Then he saw it. The sea-serpent that had attacked his boat. Like a long snake, with a giant head filled with razor sharp teeth. Four large fins propelling the beast forward, as it approached him relentlessly.

"So this is it, huh... Never thought I would die in the sea..." He muttered weakly. He was to weak to fight it and unless a miracle happened, he was as good as dead.

"_Not all is what it seems, young champion. Enemies may be friends, friends may be enemies. Never judge those you don't know. Be careful, wary even, but never judge," _The voice of his mentor whispered again.

Since there was nothing he could do, he merely watched the beast getting closer. But then it glowed, in a bright azure light. Percy had to close his eyes, lest he would have ended up blind. But when he opened his eyes again, the serpent was gone and in his stead was a woman, with flowing white hair and icy blue eyes.

"Fear not, child. I will not harm you. My husband, though, would use this chance to harm Poseidon. But I have different plans for you," the woman spoke with a deep, soothing voice.

"Who are you?"

"Tethys, wife of Oceanus and former Queen of the Sea," she smiled slightly, when she saw his eyes widen in realization. He had not expected to see a Titan any time soon, least of all the wife of his father's mortal enemy.

"But..."

"She told me you would come. That I would find you here. Many have been curious about you. The new son of the sea. The one demigod who was trained by the gods themselves. My husband is very nervous because of you, because no one can fathom what effect you will have on the war beneath the waves," Tethys said. Her gentle smile never left her face.

"So you are her to assess me, kill me if necessary," Percy said.

Tethys chuckled lightly. "No, young demigod. As I said, I am not my husband. And I do not condone his actions. His war with Poseidon has raged for millenia and I am growing tired of this needless conflict. Nothing ever changes, no one gains the upper hand. You will soon learn that our worlds greatest enemy is stagnation. You bring change, I crave that." She swam closer to him, placing a hand near his wound. "Fear not, your power will only increase in the future." She looked him straight in the eyes, before she pulled the arrow out of his wound. The sea water flooded it and closed it slowly.

Tethys suddenly looked around, slightly annoyed by something. "It seems that our time is up. But I will keep an eye on you, young Perseus. Improve yourself, my husband won't sit idly by for ever." Then she turned back into the serpent and swam away, though Percy barely realized it.

He felt so terribly tired all of a sudden. He had used too much power, now he had to sleep. With his last waking moment he saw two figures approach him. A man with a trident and a woman he recognized from their last meeting in his father's temple. They said something, they seemed to be arguing, but Percy lost his consciousness soon after.

* * *

**A/N: So, finally a chapter with more action. Many have been curious about my reason for involving the Princess Andromeda so soon in the story. Well I hope this chapter answered your question. And for all those who are still confused, just wait, future chapters will reveal more. And this chapter is the longest i have written for this story so far. It is nearly twice as long as the other chapters, mostly due to the fact that I did not wish to torture my readers by splitting this chapter into two parts.**

**And with this chapter I have finally been able to show two of the main antagonists in this story, Ethan and Deianira. I always liked the son of Nemesis and wanted to give him a bigger role in the stories. The boy who has traded an eye for the chance to make a change in the world. He just has to be awesome. And Deianira... well I wanted an antagonist especially for Zoe and Ariadne. And what better choice than a fallen Huntress. A bit of her past has already been revealed, more will follow soon. Those who read carefully enough can also find out during which year the girl joined the Hunters.**

**And finally Tethys. Some might ask why involve Tethys at all. Well the answer is simple. The main part of this story happens on the sea and what better way to involve the Titans, than involving Tethys now, before her husband comes to crash the party. The conflict between Oceanus and Poseidon will have a much bigger importance in all of my stories. With Percy and Triton fighting together there has to be some point where they fight their father's enemy. Tethys though is not involved in an antagonistic way. Her role shall remain mysterious for now.**


	7. VII

**So, we have finally reached the last chapter I had uploaded before I had taken down my stories. I know it had taken a little longer to reupload this chapter, but I had a good reason for this. The seventh chapter was small and insignificant before, but I have change that. I have expanded it and added much more, so now the chapter is more than twice as long as before. So yeah, enjoy this chapter, as it is the first all new chapter to this story...**

* * *

His head felt so light, as if it was floating. His whole body seemed weightless, drifting through nothingness. He opened his eyes, but he saw nothing but a blue, shimmering light. Then a face appeared before him, blood red eyes staring intently at him. A smirk danced over the lips of that face. Then it disappeared again.

He was alone, he felt alone in this place, though it felt like he knew this place. It felt familiar. The smell... it was the sea! He was sure of it. But he felt dry... it felt... lacking. Was he still near the ocean, after he had fallen from the ship? Had he drifted away from his friends? But then he remembered the two figures that had appeared before he lost consciousness...

"Have you seen this mark? It is hers. Why would she do this? This is most unsettling. Whatever she wanted from my son, Tethys will likely come back and try again. We don't even know what she has done to his wound, but I am sure that it was anything but good. I won't allow her to harm the boy," Someone said loudly. Percy did not recognize the voice, but its volume was enough to wake him up.

"Will you be silent, My Lord. Your son was badly hurt and had to face a Titan, yet you stand here, yelling about things you cannot change. Leave, please, let him recuperate. He is safe now, Triton will keep an eye on him." Percy definitely remembered that voice. Though he had met this particular goddess only once. His stepmother, Amphitrite. But that also meant that the other person had to be his father, Poseidon.

Poseidon and Amphitrite finally realized that Percy was beginning to stir. They saw his eyes open slowly, but before Percy could see them, Poseidon quickly left. He was loathe to admit it, but Amphitrite was right. His presence would only trouble his son now and Percy needed to recuperate. The wound was gone, but he was still weak.

His wife gave him one last admonishing look, before he was gone. Then Amphitrite turned towards the young demigod on the bed next to her. He looked so much like Poseidon that no one would ever question who the boy's godly parent was. Though she could see the slightest influences of Apollo, though they were marginal. The way he held and presented himself was greatly influenced by the sun god, but the rest of his looks were all from Poseidon. Hair, eyes, even his build was reminiscent of the sea god. With some satisfaction she realized that there was almost no sign of his mother's mortal heritage when it came to how the boy looked. It made it easier to accept his existence, at least for her.

"Rest, Perseus. You had a long day and the wound you received was grave. Be glad that you are a child of the sea or else your little adventure would have ended today," Amphitrite spoke admonishing. Her eyes drifted towards the place where the arrow had pierced his shoulder for a moment, a worried frown on her face, but she quickly returned to her stoic look.

But Percy wouldn't listen, instead he tried to stand up. Amphitrite pushed him down again, before he could get far. "Why did my fath... Lord Poseidon leave?" Percy asked, as his stepmother stood next to his bed, looking down at him like a stern mother would look at a rebellious child, that did not want to sleep. Percy did not like that in the slightest... it was... something he was not used to. He never had a maternal figure in his life and he wasn't sure how to react to his stepmother of all people. Especially when she acted like this. As if she actually cared about his well being.

"He is a busy man. The appearance of a Titan during your quest has made all of this much more complicated. His war might be catching up with you, so be careful," Amphitrite said. She could see Percy's disappointment. It had to be a bitter realization for the young demigod. Percy could only come to the conclusion that he was of less importance to Poseidon, that all the sea god did for him was merely the means to an end. "Do not fret it, Perseus, your brother will still be here." She placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it slightly in an effort to look comforting and somewhat caring to the boy.

And Percy... he knew that he shouldn't be disappointed. Most gods did not care about their children. Sure he had seen the complete opposite. He had seen how Apollo had used every loophole he could find to be with Ariadne and her siblings. But Poseidon was not Apollo and Poseidon did not care for his son in the way a family should care. Poseidon always used others to do the work, whenever his duties involved his demigod son. He sent his eldest son to train his demigod offspring. He sent his eldest son to give his youngest a weapon. He had his wife stay with his illegitimate son to make sure that he would survive long enough to make a difference in his war for the sea. Not even once had Poseidon talked to his son. And as much as Percy told himself that this was the natural course of things, it still hurt. To know that his mother is dead and his father doesn't care.

"What about that Titan..." He could still remember her, as if she stood right in front of him at the moment. Her serpent form, her red eyes and white hair in her human form. The things she said to him...

"Tethys," Amphitrite said, Percy nodded, "She has disappeared when she saw that my Lord had arrived. She is not dumb, far from it in fact. But she is also a conundrum. Unlike her husband she has not fought in the war against Lord Poseidon. Why she has come here and why she has approached you... I do not know." Though she would not admit it, her words were much more truthful than she liked. Tethys was family to her, her grandmother in fact, but Amphitrite had little contact to the wife of Oceanus and knew next to nothing about what she was doing and what had motivated her in last few centuries.

"She said that she was curious. That many in the sea are worried because of me..." Percy said somewhat smugly. It was a strange way to say it, but he was sure that Tethys had complimented him when she said that.

Amphitrite looked displeased at him, "It is never good to gloat. And though there really are many people who are not happy about your existence, this still does not mean that you are truly a threat to them... yet," Amphitrite chided the boy. His actions were foolish and though he was her husbands illegitimate child, she did not wish to see him killed.

"I'm sorry..." Percy said, as he felt like a little child, chided by its mother for doing something incredibly stupid.

"Rest for now, Perseus. You still have a long way ahead of you. But rest assured that Triton and I will always keep an eye on you," Amphitrite said, before she left the room. She didn't just flash away in front of a demigod, like most other gods would do, instead she left the room and returned home, when there was no one near. And this day she returned home, knowing that she had made great progress with her plan. Percy trusted her more than his father. A small victory over her unfaithful husband, but there was still much to be done.

Percy sighed, before he rested his head on the pillow once more. The small encounter with Luke's ship and all that happened after... it was more than he had expected. He knew he had probably underestimated the entire situation, the war looming on the horizon. He was still just a boy, but the situation and the fighting would not wait for him to grow up first. He and his friends had come very close to death this time, much closer than he had ever been before. He had seen the enemy, seen some of their capabilities. He would have to be more careful from now on.

* * *

Unaware of the presence of several gods on their boat, other members of Percy's group spent their time on deck, chatting, playing games to pass the time, while their journey continued. They had long lost sight of Luke's ship, so their mood had improved immensely.

"Shoot!" Will ordered loudly.

A fireball rose into the sky, shining brightly in the waning light of the late evening. Then several arrows passed through the fire, lighting up, before they fell into the sea.

"Yes! That's five to four for me, little sis!" Will said, a triumphant smirk on his face, as he looked at Ariadne. The girl had a mildly annoyed look on her face, though she couldn't deny that she was happy for this distraction. Will was not even far as foolish as he acted most of the time, so he had made it his duty to distract those who had gone to the Princess Andromeda. This was one of the reasons why Will had become one of her favorite siblings in the short time she had spent with her brothers and sisters. He distracted her, so she wouldn't think about Percy's near death experience and the way he had saved her.

Before she had contemplated his words and the fact the he was willing to sacrifice himself for her. They only knew each other for less than a year. He was her first friend who wasn't a Hunter... in fact he was her first real friend. To most Hunters she was Lady Artemis favorite niece and surrogate daughter. To them she was always above them in a way, all because of how her aunt had treated her all the time. She was the one that got truly raised by Artemis, the one who got all those special training and hours of tutoring. Deep down she knew that she would have never been able to be just another Hunter. To Percy she was a true friend and in return she had found a true friend in him. They shared a kind of kinship that most others wouldn't understand. She had been alone among the Hunters, he had been alone among mortals and gods. Both of them had lost their mothers, only to be raised by Zeus' twins instead. It was a connection that no one could take from them. And the fact that he would die for her meant a lot for her, though she was angry that he wouldn't allow her to do the same for him.

"Are you ready for the next flare, Lou?" Will asked. He had already notched the next arrow, readying the golden bow he had gotten from his father. Ariadne had been with him when their father gave his son this weapon as a farewell gift for this quest. Will had been so proud that day.

Ariadne stood next to him, her own bow in hand. But hers was not golden, it was silver, a replica of her aunts and the last gift she had received from Artemis, before she had left the Hunt for good.

Lou merely looked at Will with a challenging smirk, "I can do this for hours, but can you keep up, hothead?" Ariadne laughed when she heard that.

"Just shoot and find out, witch-girl," Will challenged back.

Another fireball rose into the sky, but this time only one arrow passed through it. Will looked over to his sister, a victorious smirk on his face. "Already giving up, sis?" But then he saw why Ariadne had stopped firing. Zoe stood next to her, a hand on Ariadne's arm, a displeased look on her face.

"Have you all lost your mind? Our enemies might be following us and you've got nothing better to do than showing them where we are with large signal fires?" Zoe said angrily. To her this childish game was tantamount to idiocy and irresponsibility.

"We are training, let them come, we'll be ready!" Will said with such insistence that it was clear that his words were more than empty boasting, but his actual opinion. Now that there was no man-hating goddess nearby he felt much more confident and readily opposed Zoe, whenever he felt slighted by her, which was nearly every time she spoke to or about him.

"Idiot boy, you have not seen the number of enemies on that ship. If they manage to catch up to us then we are done for. We got lucky during our last encounter, but next time they will be better prepared!" She felt like the only responsible person on the ship. It was a bitter realization that all other demigods on this ship are in fact children, not Hunters who have been with her and her mistress for decades and centuries.

"Relax, Zoe. If they want to follow us, then they will manage to do it even without our fire. Deianira was one of Lady Artemis' best trackers, she will find us no matter what. And I would rather be prepared the next time we meet her." Ariadne said stoically. Meeting a traitorous huntress had left a deep impression on her. So far she had always believed that all Hunters were absolutely loyal to her aunt, but it was obvious that she was wrong. If Deianira managed to deceive all of them, then how many more discontent Hunters are there? Are there more traitors? Are the others just waiting for a chance to leave?

"This is no excuse for your careless behavior. You endanger us all with this, no matter if they have trackers or not. We are not the hunters in this game, we are the prey. And as long as we have no chance to change the roles we have to be careful." Zoe admonished the other demigods.

Ariadne had enough and said with a rising temper, "We are careful, but we cannot spend all of our time sitting around, doing nothing, while our enemies are following us. And we have a long road ahead of us. We need to..."

"Be careful. We need to be careful. Have you learned nothing from your aunt. Or has that boy influenced you this much? He is a reckless man-child with delusions of grandeur and that is why he is still lying down there in his cabin after receiving a grave wound. I should have known that his idiocy is infectious."

"Do not speak about Percy like this. He stayed behind to save all of our lives. Deianira was right, you do live a life full of hatred. I can understand why she left the Hunters better, than I can understand your continuous hatred for all men. Just because one man has wronged you, you hate all others. And when you meet the one boy who defies all your misconceptions about men, you treat him like dirt, speak ill behind his back. Seeing what you have become, makes me glad that I made the choice to leave my aunt!" Ariadne yelled at Zoe, before she walked away, muttering angry curses all the way.

Will looked slightly uncomfortable, as he saw his sister disappear. He looked at Zoe for a moment, but ultimately decided to leave and follow Ariadne, lest he could become the target of Zoe's anger and frustration. And he knew that his sister would need him now, as a caring brother, or simply as a punching bag.

"Sometimes I really wonder what happens to those demigods that stay much closer to the gods... Percy turned out to be a good guy, Ariadne isn't all that bad, but you... I'm glad I was brought to camp and not to your mistress," Lou said, before she left as well.

Zoe was the only one remaining outside, as the last light of the day vanished and only the moon's pale light was visible on the sea. She looked up to the moon, wondering where she had erred. Couldn't the others see why she acted like this? They were careless. Ariadne had never been this careless during her time with the Hunt. It had to be Percy's fault and no matter how heroic he might act, his influence endangers others, especially Ariadne.

"Just where have I erred, mistress. I follow all you have taught me, act as you have advised me... but still. Deianira seems to have influenced Ariadne more in one short meeting, than I have managed in years of training her..." But her prayer remained unanswered. Nothing could be heard but the sea and the sound of the boat's engine.

* * *

Percy woke up again, some hours after Amphitrite had left, feeling rested and ready to continue his journey. He jumped out of bed and walked over to a porthole. He longed to see the sea, his home. He could feel that it was where he belonged. The godly part of him belonged to the sea, though his mortal half longed for the land. But his godly heritage was much stronger now, after years being near the gods and being trained by them his connection to them was so much stronger than that of his mortal mother.

He could see the sun rising over the ocean. The early light shimmered on the sea, as the water was unexpectedly calm at the moment.

Some knocked at his door. Before he could react the door opened and revealed the daughter of Aphrodite, carrying a tray with a light breakfast on it.

"I see you're already up and running again. Ariadne and Will will be happy to hear that," Silena said, as she fully entered the room and set the tray down on the small table near the bed. "You should eat your breakfast, though. No reason to start the day on an empty stomach."

"Thank you, Silena," Percy said, as he sat down at the table and started to munch on the food. He couldn't hide how hungry he was. The last day had been taxing and he hadn't eaten since breakfast the day before.

"Say, Percy, I didn't know you had a tattoo... where did you get that?" Silena said after some moments of silence.

Percy looked confused, before he realized two things. One, he was not wearing a shirt at the moment, which did not bother him all that much after growing up with Apollo, who had completely different conception of self-consciousness. And two, the wound from the arrow had completely disappeared, but around the place where the arrow had struck him was a small tattoo now. A red sea serpent, biting its own tail, creating a ring without end around the former wound. He traced the serpent with his fingers, wondering about its meaning. He remembered that Tethys had been a serpent when she approached him. Was this her emblem or something like that?

"Percy?"

"Huh? Ah... yes. This tattoo... something silly I got when Apollo wasn't looking..." He lied quickly. He didn't know why he did it, but for some reason he felt like no one else should know that this was most likely a creation of a Titan. So he quickly decided to change the topic. "You know, Silena, I've never asked why you wanted to come along. Everyone on this ship has a reason, most of them came because I asked them to, except Beckendorf and Zoe. What's your story?"

The daughter of Aphrodite looked uncomfortable all of a sudden. She looked away from him, brushing a hand through her currently dark hair. She did change her hair color whenever she felt like it. So far Percy had seen her as a blonde, brunette and now with raven hair like his own. But he didn't know what to think of her actions, but he knew that his over all understanding of the other gender was somewhat limited. He blamed Apollo for that.

"I... I wanted to get away from the camp. I thought it would be better to be as far away from Camp Half-blood as possible."

"I understand, life at camp is dreadfully boring after some time," Percy said. "But I would have never expected one of you dolls to seek adventure and dangers."

"Dolls?" Silena asked with faux indignation. She glared at him, but he merely laughed.

"Well yes. You daughters of Aphrodite are dolls. You dress up and all that. You rarely join any fights. You rarely participate in any activities like capture the flag and such. So yes, you and your sisters are dolls. And don't glare, I have been on the receiving end of Lady Artemis' glare and let me tell you, you have nothing on her."

"It still is not nice to degrade us this way..." Silena said.

Percy chuckled, "Sure, sure. I'm sorry, really. But you still have not told me why you wanted to come with us on this adventure. There are many ways to escape the camp as long as you are not on some god's shit-list."

"I don't know..." Silena said somewhat reluctantly. "It just sounded like a good chance."

Percy didn't really believe that, but he wouldn't push her. Since they had left the camp, Silena had spent nearly all the time on the boat with Beckendorf. He wouldn't be surprised if there was some deeper connection between those two and it wasn't his right to pry into their personal relationships, no matter what they may be.

"Percy, stop playing dead and come out!" Triton commanded loudly from outside.

Percy groaned slightly, before he complied. "Well, my brother wants something, so we should go." Then he remembered that he was still shirtless. "Ah... you go first, I should get dressed. We don't want people to get the wrong idea when they see us both showing up, while I am barely dressed." He joked lightly, before he started searching for something to wear.

A few minutes later Percy had finally found his brother. Triton stood at bow of the ship, looking at something in the distance. Percy watched the god for some moments, wondering why his brother looked so worried. But then he saw something in the distance...

"How long do you intend to stand there and watch me? I haven't called for you without a reason, Perseus. Come here," Triton said sternly. He did not turn around, so Percy could not see his face until he stood directly next to his brother.

Never before had Percy seen such an expression on his brother's face. Worry, sadness, anger... pain. All visible on his face, in his eyes. Whatever it was, that had Triton in this mood, it couldn't be good. It had to be something ahead of them. The thing he saw in the distance.

"Do you see that, brother?" Triton asked after some more moments. Percy was surprised at first. Triton never called him brother. So why would he start now? Had Lady Amphitrite talked to him and order him to act more brotherly?

Then he looked towards the thing he had seen in the distance. He could see some rocks, no a reef perhaps? There was a whirlpool near it... and a fountain... he didn't understand what it was, it looked absolutely confusing.

"What is that?" He asked, hoping for a clear answer from his brother.

"There are only two ways to enter the Sea of Monsters. The Clashing Rocks in the far south and the straight of Scylla and Charybdis. All other attempts to enter the Sea would lead us into the nothingness of the vast ocean. This is our only chance to get in."

"Scylla and Charybdis..." Percy mumbled. He remembered hearing about these two monsters. One being a monster with many heads, eating the sailors on Odysseus' ship, the other being a giant monster that swallowed a ship whole... Neither was a very appealing option. Being eaten one by one or being eaten all at once... oh how he loved monsters and their varied and creative ways of killing demigods.

"In less than an hour we will arrive at the straight, it will be your next big test. Odysseus nearly lost his life to these two, how will you fare against them?" Triton looked at him, judging his reaction. Percy knew that he would not disappoint his brother by acting cowardly, so he tried to be courageous. He had killed monsters before, so why should those two be different? They are only bigger.

"Is there a way to defeat them? Could we kill these monsters? Everything has a weakness..."

"Absolutely not!" Triton interrupted. He looked angrily at Percy for a moment, before his expression morphed into a disappointed frown. "Killing isn't always the answer. Monster or not, those two are creatures of the sea and we must not harm them unless necessary."

"Okay, okay. Geez..." Percy didn't understand why Triton was so against killing those two. They were just monsters, were they not? Triton had killed sea monsters before. Monsters in the service of Oceanus.

"You will guide your ship through the narrow straight between Scylla and Charybdis. Do not leave your path and you will succeed, stray and you will die."

"Very comforting, thank you. And how are we supposed to find the right path?"

"Use your head. You are a son of the sea, act like one for once. And if you don't feel up to it, ask Artemis' girl, it is obvious that the sea is also strong in her as well." Without another word Triton jumped off the ship and into the sea. Percy remained, confused and worried. Triton's actions were strange. He acted not like the sea god he had gotten to know in the past few months. Something was fishy and he did not mean his brother's tails.

* * *

Scylla and Charybdis. Two of the most frightening monsters the sea had to offer. Percy still couldn't believe that they were on their way, directly to those two. One was a giant monster with countless heads, that would try to kill everyone on board one by one. The other was a giant maw, an abyss that would swallow the whole ship in one go. Neither was a very appealing option.

Percy was still confused because of his brother's behavior. Triton was firmly against killing these monsters, not that Percy had any idea how to kill monsters of this size and power anyway. So fighting them was out of questions, but that left him with the problem, that he still had to find a way to get past them without loosing either his ship or some of his friends.

Neither monster was truly visible yet, but their presence could be felt. At least he felt it, as if the sea itself tried to dissuade him, tried to make him turn around and leave. But he had no choice, his destiny awaited him beyond those two, on the Sea of Monsters.

A fountain appeared suddenly, not too far from the boat. Charybdis, spewing out the water it had swallowed before. This made one thing very clear, they were on a direct course into the monster's maw.

"Beckendorf, take the ship to the left!" He yelled and pointed to the side he wanted to go. He knew that no sailor would say left or right, but he was no sailor and neither was Beckendorf. The son of Hephaestus immediately reacted and steered the ship further away from the fountain.

"Are you insane? You are getting us closer to Scylla! That beast will kill us one by one!" Zoe yelled, as she ran towards him. He knew she was partly right, they were getting dangerously close to the nearby cliffs, the place where the beast hid from sight until the moment when there was no escape left for the boat.

"And what would you do? Sail us into the maw of Charybdis?" Percy retorted, a displeased look directed at the girl that now stood next to him at the bow of the ship.

"We are getting too close," Zoe repeated, "More to the right, away from the cliff!" She shouted towards Beckendorf. The boy hesitated and looked at Percy, waiting for his reaction before he acted on this order. When Percy nodded, Beckendorf tried to steer the ship in the other direction again, not that it was all that necessary.

Percy looked at the sea for a moment, tried to do as his brother told you. He could feel the water underneath him, not as strongly as he would do while swimming, but enough to get that dreadful sense of foreboding."The maw is about to open! Stop, Beckendorf, wait until Charybdis has swallowed enough water or it will swallow us."

"The sea is calm, just what are you..." Zoe was about to complain, before she suddenly stopped mid sentence. A whirlpool appeared a short distance away from the ship, near a black coral reef with a solitary fig tree on top. Small at first, the whirlpool grew and grew, until they could see the darkness inside the maw of Charybdis appear. And they saw the teeth surrounding the maw, filled with the dirt and other things that got stuck there over the centuries. They could even see the remains of other ships, ancient wooden ships, half rotten, half preserved inside the monster's mouth.

"That thing needs a toothbrush... badly I would say," Percy said in an attempt to lighten up the mood. But seeing Charybdis, they were staring at their own doom. One wrong movement and they would be swallowed in one piece.

Their boat started drifting towards the gaping black hole in the sea, as Charybdis swallowed unbelievable amounts of sea water. "Beckendorf, full speed towards the left, take us to the cliff!" Percy yelled.

"NO!" Zoe interjected, "Scylla will kill us all!"

"I'd rather take my chances with Scylla, than ending up inside the belly of that thing," Percy said angrily, as he pointed at Charybdis. "We can at least try to fight off Scylla's heads, but we can do absolutely nothing against that maw!"

"Percy, look!" Ariadne said, as she joined the others outside. She pointed at the cliff, which rose into the sky. But now they could see something, a mouth, filled with razor sharp teeth. Then the long neck attached to it. Scylla. Now they were nearly in the reach of this beast with no chance to escape. There was no turning back. Either they got past this monster or they would die trying. The only other choice was the dark maw of Charybdis and they would not stand a chance against that monster.

Everyone on the ship was silent now, only the humming of the boats engine audible, as they watched the cliffs with baited breath. They waited for the inevitable attack. Scylla would attack them, no doubt about it.

And then, without any prior warning the attack came. Monstrous heads, filled with razor sharp teeth, shot out from behind the cliff and descended upon the boat, searching for anything edible. And the heads started thrashing wildly all over the ship, snatching anything that was unfortunate enough to end up between its teeth, before the heads returned to where the monster's body had to be.

So far the demigods had been lucky. So far they had been lucky. The heads had only manage to grab furniture or smaller objects of lesser importance, but that wouldn't last forever. With every attack they got closer to the demigods.

One of the heads shot down next to Ariadne, missing her only by inches. But both the girl and her brother repelled it quickly, by slashing it with their weapons, leaving deep cuts on the beast. But the other heads returned quickly, intent on retaliation for the inflicted pain.

Another head shot down right at Percy's position, just as his back was turned towards the approaching threat. He only heard Ariadne yell something at him, not clearly understanding what she wanted from him in the tumultuous battle. Only in the last moment he could see the beat's maw, the razor sharp teeth threateningly close to him. He could smell death in the beast's breath. Death and rot. He spun around, in a feeble attempt to somehow block the monster's attack, but even he knew that it would be futile. Scylla could easily swallow him in one go, leaving nothing behind.

But before the head could reach him, swallow him, it suddenly went up in flames, before a small explosion knocked it back. Percy, startled by this sudden, though welcome, interruption, looked around, trying to find the person that had saved him. And he quickly found her, not far from him. Lou was there, panting. Without fail she used her mother's gift, the magic that all of Hecate's children had been born with.

But it was quickly tiring the girl out. She wasn't used to using magic in such a situation. It was forbidden to use offensive magic at Camp Half-blood, a decision made by the majority of the camp's inhabitants. Fear of what Hecate's children could do and envy of their possible power fueled the wish to keep them weak and untrained in the magical arts. Percy knew this. It was why he wanted Lou to come along on this Quest. Both her possible strength and the fact that she would never refuse a chance to leave the camp. He knew that she would be much more inclined to stand on his side, than on the side of those, who feared her and her siblings.

"Lou, go to Beckendorf. Get back inside and rest!" Percy yelled at her. He wanted her to leave, so she can find rest without having to fear the monster's attacks. As long as there are still potential enemies outside, Scylla wouldn't try to get those inside.

She looked hesitant for a moment, before she quickly retreated to a nearby entry. Percy was relieved that she agreed without arguing. It meant that he there was one less person he would have to protect here. At least for now. Only Zoe, Apollo's children and he were left outside. Beckendorf was still steering the ship and Silena had not even tried to fight the beast, not that a daughter of Aphrodite would have been much help in any combat. Percy was sure that none of her children would be of any use in such a situation. Their strengths lie elsewhere.

"Zoe! Watch out!" Ariadne yelled. She also tried running towards the huntress, but Will held her back. The son of Apollo knew that Ariadne would only allow Scylla to attack her as well, would she try to run over to where Zoe was about to be attacked.

But Percy was closer to her. He saw how Zoe fired arrow after arrow at the heads, repelling a few of them. But not all of them. One got through her barrage and shot down towards her with a frightening speed. She discarded her bow and readied her hunting knives, unwilling to go down without a fight.

But the monster's strike never came. At least not for Zoe. Someone bumped into her, sending her sprawling on the floor much to her ire. But her anger quickly vanished when she saw Percy disappear inside the maw of Scylla.

"NO!" Zoe could her Ariadne yell, as will was still busy holding her back. But for her it seemed so unreal. Again Percy had saved her, despite how she treated him all the time. Again he had shown that he cares more about the people around him than about his own safety... and now he was gone... for good. She felt so numb as her mind registered this fact. Not long ago he had taken an arrow as he made sure that they could escape... now he's dead. And she couldn't help but feel shocked and sorrowful by this... much like she would feel when one of her sisters in the hunt died...

Ariadne had finally managed to escape her brother's grip, as she raised her bow and shot at Scylla. Fury was etched onto her face, as she shot arrow after arrow, before Will caught up to her, trying to protect her if the head's returned. In her current state it was obvious that she wouldn't be as careful as she had been before.

But something was odd. Scylla had stopped. The monster was still, unmoving. It did not attack, it did not move. All six heads were inactive now, as if the monster was waiting for something. But what could that possibly be? Or was it satisfied? Would it allow them passage, now that it had snatched one of them?

* * *

But what the demigods on the boat did not know, was that Percy was not quite as dead as they feared. Instead he sat inside the maw of Scylla's head, trying to keep himself from sliding down the throat, steadying himself with his legs, while he kept the maw from closing. He had rammed his sword into the upper jaw of Scylla, keeping her from closing her mouth completely.

He sighed, as he tried to think of a way to escape. His situation was desperate, never before had he been as close to his own death as this time. His strength was waning and should Scylla even try to swallow him, he knew that there would be little he could do against it now. Suddenly he felt a searing pain from his chest, from the place where the arrow had struck him. The place where Tethys had left her strange mark. And before he knew what was happening, he was blinded by a light.

His vision returned some moments later. But something was different. He was no longer in Scylla's mouth. He was lying on solid ground, the wind above him and the grass beneath him gently caressing his skin. He looked around frantically, trying to understand what had happened.

He felt water. A small pool of crystal clear water was nearby. And a woman. A beautiful woman, with long dark hair, braided with golden threads, appeared. Her eyes were of a piercing green color and Percy would have called them just as beautiful as the rest of her appearance, had it not been for what he could see in those green gems. Malice, hate, envy.

The woman had apparently not seen him yet or she simply decided to ignore him, as she pulled a small flask from her black robe. She poured it's contents into the pool, before she turned around and left quickly.

Percy was confused for a moment. But as he approached the pool and touched the water he recoiled almost immediately. Whatever it was that the woman had poured into the water, it had twisted the clear liquid, turned it into something else entirely.

Another person approached the pool. Another woman. One even more beautiful as the other before. And there was something about her, a feeling that he had when he saw her. She was no mortal, that much was sure.

Percy almost turned a scarlet color as she suddenly discarded her clothing, preparing herself to bath in the pool. Percy yelled at her, tried to stop her from entering the twisted water. But just like the other woman before, this one acted as if he wasn't there.

"It is futile. You cannot interfere here." The voice of his mentor told him. But this time it did not happen in his mind. No, as he turned around he saw her, for the first time. She stood behind him. But he couldn't see much of her. Most of her body was obscured by her white robe and the hood that hid the majority of her face. But he could see her lips, the sad frown that apparently marred her face. And the way she carried herself showed nothing but grace and dignity.

"Why?" Percy asked. "Why bring me here?"

A scream interrupted his tirade and he quickly spun around again. The beautiful woman had entered the water, but the twisted liquid did it's work almost immediately. It twisted and mutated the beautiful woman and turned into a hideous monster. All the while she screamed in agony and misery. Percy just couldn't stand watching her anymore, so he returned his gaze towards his mentor, who still looked impassively at the scene before them.

"Why have you brought me here? Why show me this, if there is nothing I can do to prevent it? Is this some kind of twisted joke? A miserable way to teach me some lesson?" He knew that the gods had a very strange way to teach their mortal children a lesson, but this... this was just cruel.

"This is indeed a lesson. But I have not brought you here. Tethys did this, to show you a truth that you wouldn't understand otherwise. She doesn't understand that you are too young for seeing such atrocities, but she is right about teaching you this lesson now, before you make a mistake that will destroy lives." His mentor said almost sadly, as she looked upon the now changed form of the woman. "Look, Perseus, and tell me what you see."

Percy was reluctant to turn around again. Though the screams had stopped, he still dreaded what he would see. But he turned around and what he saw left him speechless. Gone was the woman. Gone was her beautiful brown hair, that had shimmered golden in the sunlight. Gone were her sea-green eyes, replaced by the crazed black orbs of a monster. Gone were her gentle curves and all that was left was a giant, twisted monster. All that was left was...

"Scylla!" Percy said almost hoarsely. There before him was the very monster who had tried to eat him only moments ago. Or maybe he was still inside her jaw and this was just a vision. He couldn't really tell for sure. But he had just seen how a beautiful woman had been turned into a monster. And all because of the envy and hatred of another woman.

"Not all monsters have been born as such. Not all who attack you are your enemies by choice. Learn this lesson well, Perseus. Scylla was once a nymph of unrivaled beauty. But her fate was cruel and left her mind broken and her body as that of a monster. Had you met her before her transformation, you would have encountered a sweet and gentle soul. There are many others like her out there. One sitting right on the other side of your boat at the moment."

"Charybdis? Was she... did someone turn her into a monster, too?" Percy asked in surprise. Was this why Triton was so opposed to the idea of killing these monsters?

"Yes, but her fate is not for me to tell." His mentor said sagely. "But our time here draws to an end. Do not forget what you learned here. Never judge without knowing. Never hate without questioning. We live in a cruel world and not many are as fortunate as you. You are given a choice. Many others never had one." And with these parting words his mentor faded away before his very eyes.

The entire world around him seemed to fade away as well. He turned around one last time, seeing Scylla lying there, looking so miserable. Not at all like the fearsome monster he had seen her as before. All he felt now was pity. Especially when he heard her last croaked words. Though Scylla could not have meant to address him, he still felt like she was speaking to him.

"Help... me." Two words that changed his entire view of the monsters he had hunted for as long as he could remember. Soon thereafter all he saw was blinding white light, before he could feel that he was once more inside Scylla's mouth. But she was no longer trying to crush or swallow him. Carefully he removed his sword from the monster's upper jaw, before a squall of water erupted from Scylla's throat, shooting him out like bullet, sending him deep into the Sea of Monsters. His friends on the boat could only watch as he disappeared on the horizon.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope the new stuff did not disappoint. At first I had planned the scenes with Scylla and Charybdis to appear in chapter 8, but I changed my mind and added them here, to give you one big chapter instead of two small ones.**

**For this I have also added the small background story for Scylla, to show how she has become the terrifying monster she is at this time. Scylla's family is not known for sure, some sources say that she is a daughter of Phorcys and Keto, other sources claim that she was a daughter of Triton and Lamia. Since there were no mentions of her parentage in the PCO books as far as I remember, I will go with the latter option and treat her as one of Triton's daughters, giving her a connection to both Percy, Triton and Charybdis.**

**And before people start complaining about Percy getting hurt all the time while he tries to protect others, just look at the books, it is a surprise he never got killed while he protected his family and friends. He is just a person who would rather die than see any of his friends get hurt or worse killed.**

**And some people think that they have figured out the identity of Percy's mysterious mentor. So if you think that you know who messes with Percy's fate, just PM me instead of writing it in Reviews. Just don't spoil it for others. Just one thing, it isn't Tethys. She is just another Titan that likes to mess with Percy.**

**Okay, one more thing and I'm sure that most of you won't like this. But I won't be able to update until late October. I will be spending time in a training camp for the next five weeks, so I won't be able to spend much time on writing. Don't worry, once I'm back I will continue this story with all new chapters.**

**Okay, until next time then...**


	8. VIII

**So today I have a small gift for all of you. Though it will take me a few more weeks to get back home, I have still been able to write something short to add here. It isn't long or overly important. It is just a short... piece to show more about the current situation and Percy's opposition.**

**And to answer a question asked in the Reviews about why I don't follow the usual storyline of superdad Poseidon or assholedad Poseidon, it is simple. One thing people have to see is that Poseidon is not the great dad people want to see him as. Just look at how he treats Triton and how he plays favorite with his own children. Not to mention all his offsprings in the myths... And in this storyline Percy has grown up without ever really meeting his father in person. He grew up without a mother who would talk kindly about his absent father, he is being manipulated by a venegeful goddess and has seen how most gods ignore their children. So don't tell me that he should be bouncing with happyness every time he hears someone say Poseidon. He doesn't hate his father and Poseidon isn't a complete asshole. But the happy family reunion just isn't meant to happen any time soon.**

**Oh well, have fun with it. I'll be back in 2-3 weeks, then I will post longer chapters and move on witht the storyline...**

* * *

Slowly, steadily the waves crashed onto the shore, accompanied by that incessant swoosh of the ocean. The sun stood high, burning hotly on her skin, as consciousness slowly returned to her. She felt the hot sand beneath her, as she tried to move. But her limbs would not react at first and all movement forsook her. She slowly opened her eyes, only to close them again after being almost blinded by Apollo's light. But the second time she opened her eyes, her sight had adjusted to the light and she could see the beach around her.

She tried to remember how she had ended up here, but so far her mind seemed blank. She knew that she had been on a boat. They, her group, had ended up near Scylla and Charybdis, but after that... nothing.

By now she had finally managed to get her arms and legs to work, so she slowly tried to push herself up. She saw her bow nearby, so she tried to get to it. When walking failed, she crawled over to it, grabbing it with both hands. Without it she felt weak, powerless, exposed. She blamed the goddess Artemis for that. Because of that goddess she had lived more years as a Hunter than otherwise.

Finally she managed to stand, to walk. She decided to go and search for the rest of her group, hoping that they had been washed up on this island just like she had. So she walked towards the trees that awaited her on the other side of the beach. If there had been any other survivors, they would surely be there. In fact she didn't care much for the boys in her group, her worry was mostly for the sole other girl with them. Her own protege, the girl she had found and trained. The girl was strong, with a quit wit. She would survive, no doubt about it. But she was also young. Too young to fight alone yet.

The forest she entered was both a welcome change of scenery, but she couldn't help herself but feel disturbed by it. On the one hand she felt safe inside the wild and tranquil forests that had been her home for longer than the great cities. But at the same time this forest was oddly silent. No sound, not even the rustling of the leaves could be heard. Not a single animal, no birds, no other life could been seen or heard. It was eerily silent.

But despite the rising feeling of dread, she still continued on, deeper and deeper into the sea of browns and greens. Until... until a roar shattered the silence. The roar of a giant monster. She quickened her pace. Faster. Faster. Until she was running, evading bushes and fallen trees with the ease and grace of a trained Hunter of Artemis.

Soon she happened upon a clearance and the source of the sounds that had shattered the silence of the land. She saw an eight-foot-tall, humanoid creature running after a girl, swinging a large iron club in its attempts to hit the child. It quickly gained on the girl and was soon to reach her. But the giant wouldn't get the chance. Before it even knew of the presence of another demigod, it was taken down with a single arrow through one of it's eyes.

The other girl look around, searching, not in surprise. The way the giant had been killed left no doubt about the identity of her savior, that much was obvious. With an elated look on her face she approached her mentor, though she still looked around, as if she was afraid that more giants might show up any moment.

"Deianira! Thank the gods that you have come!" The girl said, before she hugged the elder huntress happily.

"Diana. It's good to see you well." Deianira said with a fond smile, as she padded the younger and smaller girl on her black hair. Though she only knew Diana for a few short months, the girl had quickly grown on her. Ever since she had saved her from her drunkard father and took her right from under Artemis nose. "But what was that thing? I didn't know that there are giants on this island."

"It was terrible. I was with Ethan when those monsters attacked us. They captured him, but I managed to escape before it was too late... that one followed me the entire way." Diana said somewhat disconcerted. Deianira could only realize that maybe she shouldn't expect too much from her, Diana was after all merely ten years old and not yet fully trained. Of course the young girl would elect to run when faced with such monsters. "They said that they want to eat us!"

"Eat you?" Deianira asked with a worried frown. Many monsters had no problem with eating demigods. But most humanoid monsters like these giants wouldn't bother with hunting demigods as food. That could only mean one thing. "This island... we are on the island of the Laistrygonian giants." So they had managed to enter the Sea of Monsters after all.

"Laisty... Lystro... what are these things?" Diana asked.

"The Laistrygonian giants are cannibalistic monsters. They eat people like us. When Odysseus came here, they sunk most of his ships and ate many of his men. Be very careful around them." She lectured the girl, "But you said that you were with Ethan?" Diana nodded enthusiastically. "And the other boys?"

"There was only Ethan. I don't know where the other two are..."

Dead, most likely, though Deianira wouldn't say it out loud in front of Diana. "I guess we have to safe Ethan then. Luke would be displeased should anything happen to his second in command." She wasn't a big fan of either Luke or Ethan, but she wouldn't be so cruel to abandon him to such a grizzly fate. She wouldn't follow her former mistress example. "Show me where they have captured you!"

* * *

Far away, on top of Mount Olympus, the gods followed their usual routines, most of them ignorant of what currently happened on the world below them. Only few of them were willing to see the danger, which grew with every passing moment. And those few were busy in their attempts to keep their world from falling apart.

"Why won't you see this! The truth is right in front of you, but you just ignore it! Wake up and act before it is too late, brother!" Poseidon almost yelled at Zeus, as both of them stood on a balcony of Zeus' palace. But the king of the gods stubbornly ignored his brother's warnings, he wouldn't even look at him. Instead he stared into the vast sky above them.

"Zeus!" Poseidon growled once again, much more fiercely this time. He wouldn't allow Zeus to ignore him just like this. This was not a game, this was a war, coming right to their doorsteps. More and more demigods disappeared every day, only few made it to Camp Half-blood these days. But Zeus ignored it. "My son..."

"Your son should be at camp, brother!" Zeus said sharply. But he still wouldn't look at Poseidon. "He should be under the constant observation of Dionysus. Yet he is not there. No, he left... he escaped. With the help of my children..." It was obvious that this fact irked Zeus the most. That even Artemis, his good and reliable daughter, his loyal child, had allowed this to happen. They all knew that Perseus was not allowed to leave the camp any time soon. And the moment he had left, the camp descended into turmoil. The moment this sea-spawn left, the sacred tree - his daughter's tree - had been poisoned. His daughter was finally dying and he couldn't help himself but wonder why this event coincided with Perseus departure. Related events or just another sick joke of the fates? He did not know, but his ingrained suspicion of his brothers and their children told him to believe the former.

"Perseus has to follow his path. His fate was never to rot at that camp." Poseidon said defiantly. He had watched his son and no matter how many friends Perseus had found at this place, it did not change the fact that Camp Half-blood was a prison to him. "And the fact that he has once again met the traitorous son of Hermes and defied him should be proof enough that he is loyal to Olympus!"

"The traitor... who tells me that this isn't a setup. Some elaborate plan to fool me... Your son is a dangerous being and only my children's stubborn support of this boy is what keeps him alive. He might still be our doom. He might still be a disciple of one of the Titans."

"So you acknowledge that they are a threat! Finally."

"Our parents and the other Titan's have never left, Poseidon. I am always wary of them, but unlike you I don't believe that our father is rising to lead them against us. Your son's meeting with Tethys does not prove anything. She has always been an odd one. She never followed our father." Zeus said insistently.

"She may not follow our father, but she is one of many. She has not shown herself to any of us in more than a millenia. I have met Oceanus on several occasions, in several fights, but she has never been there. And now, all of a sudden, she returns to show herself to a demigod? To a demigod who is being guarded by several gods at that? Doesn't that sound odd, even to you?"

"As I said, she is an odd one."

"But..."

"Enough!" Zeus said with slight anger. Thunder rumbled in the distance as he made the loud exclamation, underlining his growing anger much more than anything else could have ever done it. When Poseidon is angry the earth will shake and the sea will be in turmoil. But when Zeus unleashes his anger the sky will turn black and thunder and lightning will make the mortals tremble in fear. "I have other things to worry about. Leave me alone with that son of yours. He has enough gods who watch out for him!" Though he couldn't be sure, Poseidon believed that he had heard not just anger, but also some jealousy in his brother's words. "My daughter is dying. Your spawn lives, but she will fade away."

Ah, now he understood. Years ago Zeus had turned his daughter, Thalia, into a tree, to save her from Hades' wrath. Percy had not just survived Hades revenge, but also managed to gain his approval. And now Thalia's tree had been poisoned and the girl's fate rested in the hands of a few demigods. All Zeus' daughter had were mere demigods on a quest, while Percy had gods looking out for him. Of course this must irk the king a lot. Of course it did not matter to Zeus, that Perseus had many more enemies, now that at least Tethys and Oceanus had their eyes on him. Not to mention that Percy had been missing for two weeks now, after his near death experience inside Scylla's maw.

* * *

The sun was slowly disappearing on the horizon, as Deianira and Diana cautiously approached the giant's encampment. So far they had shied away from any further confrontations with the cannibalistic monsters, to avoid a premature detection. They knew about the dangers of their endeavor, but they were willing to risk it, for the sake of their comrades.

The giant's camp was ablaze with the light of countless torches and bonfires, leaving little chance to hide away in the shadows. This left the two girls with little choice, but to try and hide behind any cover they could find, though it made their attempted rescue mission much harder and much more dangerous. Even behind the primitive huts of the giants they could still be spotted; one wrong move and they would end up on the menu.

Deianira watched her enemies for some time, before she finally decided on a course of action. So far she had seen no less then nine giants in this small camp and she was sure that there must be more, walking around on this island, hunting food while the rest of their kin followed different tasks.

"There," She pointed at a large hut at the other side of the encampment, "That has too be where they keep their food. I've seen several of them leave this place with meat to roast over their fire-pits. If they have the others, then they are there." Either alive or dead, though she wouldn't voice this thought in front of her young charge. She knew it had been a bad idea to bring her along, but leaving her on Luke's ship seemed even worse. No the young girl should have stayed at their camp, far away from fighting, monsters and crazed demigods with Titan lords.

"What will we do now?"

"We?" Deianira looked critically at the girl for a moment, "You will stay here, hidden from them. I will go in and see if I can save Ethan and the others."

"But I want to help!" Diana protested loudly, a displeased scowl on her face.

"Will you be silent! We don't need them to know about our presence!" Deianira hissed. But her anger at the girl's carelessness vanished immediately, as she saw the girl flinch. Even after months of taking care of her, Diana was still afraid of inciting the anger of other people. "You are not ready yet. I can't fight with all my power if I have to fear for your safety. Please stay here and be careful." She spoke softly to the girl, but all she got from her was a small nod and a timid demigoddess who looked for a good place to hide.

Deianira knew that there wasn't much more she could do at the moment, so she refocused on the task ahead. Slowly, mindful of everything around her, she approached the giant's huts, hurrying from cover to cover. She could here her enemies talk in their language. To her it sounded extremely guttural and... aggressive. She had no idea what they were discussing at the moment, but it couldn't be good. She could easily spot the agitation that some of them felt. Obviously these giants were not very happy and prone to fight amongst themselves.

The last part of her way to the hut where she presumed Ethan to be was open space, with no cover whatsoever. She knew she would need a distraction, something to keep the giants busy. Causing them to fight amongst each other was just what she would need.

She looked around for a way to start a fight, but nothing seemed to be in immediate reach. Then she saw it. A piece of mutton over the fire and two giants in its reach that did not look. Maybe this would be enough to cause some trouble. It was obvious that the giants are hungry and their only concern at the moment was food. So she snuck closer to the meat and the fire, risking her cover as she left her safe hiding place. She was in plain sight for several moments, close enough to the fire to be easily spotted from the other side of the encampment. But luck was on her side as it seemed and no one saw her until she had the meat. She ran back to her cover, making enough sounds to cause the giants to turn around and look at the fire... and for them to realize that their food had just vanished.

The giants began to yell at each other. Others soon joined them, creating a large group of angry 8-foot-tall monsters, that began to get violent. It was the distraction Deianira needed and she used it well. As the giants began to hit each other, she made a run for the large hut. She managed to reach it, unseen by her enemies. But not all giants were distracted. No. Inside the hut there was another one. One giant with a clever that was easily as big as Deianira herself. Blood was still dripping from the grotesque weapon and a nearby table.

"You next, puny! But I don't think you taste good. Too many bones, too little meat." The giant said to someone, but Deianira couldn't see who this monster was talking to. She tried to get closer without getting caught, until she saw the monster grab something from the wall. It took her some moments to realize that the giant suddenly had another humanoid being in its hand.

"Just try you damn oaf. I'm sure you will choke on me bones!" She recognized the voice. This was Ethan. This giant was about to prepare Ethan as the next dinner. The monster had just placed Ethan on the table and readied it's cleaver to chop him into pieces.

But Deianira wouldn't allow that to happen. Just as the giant had raised the cleaver, she had summoned her silvery bow and pulled the string back. A silver arrow appeared and sped away as she released the string. Only a dull thud could be heard, before the giant stopped moving. The large cleaver fell from it's hand, only moments before the giant dropped to the ground, dead. The one arrow that had been enough to kill it was still embedded in it's neck.

"What the..." Ethan wondered loudly. "Hello? Anyone there? I could really use a hand right now."

Deianira had to use the fallen giant as a makeshift ladder to climb onto the bloody table, before she saw Ethan. He was in bonds, but otherwise she could only see some minor wounds. Superficial mostly, that much was sure.

"Deianira! Never would have thought that I would be happy to see your scowl one day." Ethan said, obviously relieved. "Come on, free me so we can get out of here."

The former huntress scowled at the boy and his commanding attitude, but complied and freed him. She had come to save him, so she had little choice but to do I or else the risk would have been for naught. "Just be glad that I have come to safe your sorry ass. Others wouldn't have bothered for someone as untrustworthy as you." She pulled out a hunting knife and freed the boy from his restraints, before she turned around and looked towards the entrance of the hut.

"What..."

"Be silent." She hissed at him. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what? I can't hear anything." Ethan replied in confusion.

"Exactly. I have caused a distraction by inciting a fight amongst the giants. There has been one hell of a turmoil some moments ago... but now it is deathly silent..."

Ethan understood what she meant and tried to summon his weapons. The giants, simple as they are, had checked him for obvious weapons, but they had not bothered to look for any hidden or enchanted weapons. Lucky for him, as it allowed him to hold on to his sword.

"Did... did Diana get away?" Ethan suddenly asked.

"Yeah. I found her and she told me about you. Now come. Don't waste any more of my time. We need to escape!" Deianira shot back, as she jumped off the large table and ran towards the entrance of the hut. They had to escape. And she didn't even want to think about what would happen after that. They had come to follow Percy Jackson and his band of misfits, but now they had landed themselves in even bigger trouble. This was only just the beginning.

* * *

On another island, not far away from the place where Ethan and Deianira had stranded, a woman watched over the sleeping form on the bed before her. Much had happened since she had returned to influencing the fate of this world. Or more precisely the fate of one demigod. Not everything was going as she had planed it, but she was still pleased with the progress of her chosen one. He would fulfill his destiny.

Next to the bed knelt another woman, though she was much younger than her other companion. With gentleness she cared for the boy on the bed. She had cleaned his wounds, tended to his ailments. Now she waited at his bedside. And he finally stirred.

"Wake up, Perseus. Destiny awaits..." She whispered softly in his ear.

* * *

**A/N: So that's it for today. **

**I have only few words to say about this short chapter. I will show more about Ethan and Deianira in the following chapters. Who said that the bad guys don't have problems of their own. And especially Deianira will be an essential part of Zoe's and Ariadne's storyline. And of course the short part with Zeus and Poseidon had mainly one purpose. To give a glimpse of what has happened at camp after Percy's departure and the beginning of the actual quest from the second book. Just like in my last story, Percy's new fate will happen at the same time as the canon storyline. **

**And I'm sure that I don't have to tell anyone who the girl at the end is. That should be obvious. By the way, about some people have already guessed the identity of Percy's mentor correctly, but she won't be revealed in this story until about the end of this trial.**

**Well, I'll be back in 2-3 weeks, so expect the chapter at the end of the month or at latest within the first week of November. Cya.**


	9. IX

His head felt so light, as he slowly opened his eyes. He couldn't remember when he had felt this rested before, but at the same time his limbs felt stiff. As if he had not moved in a long while. But that wasn't the first thing on his mind. No. The soft voice that had woken him up and the smell of cinnamon were all that occupied his mind right now.

"He is finally waking up." There was the voice again. So soft. He was sure that he had never heard it before. But he was sure that it was a girl.

"Yes. Those weeks should have been enough rest with the wounds he had suffered." Now that was a voice he knew. He heard it on so many occasions, often times during his dreams. His mentor was here. Or was he dreaming again? He couldn't be sure. So he opened his eyes fully. A face appeared before him. A girl with dark, almond shaped eyes and a gentle smile was right in front of him.

"Who are you?" He asked curiously. Her smile seemed to intensify as she heard his question. Her face seemed so radiant with that smile, he was sure that he smiled as well.

"I am Calypso and you are on my island, Perseus Jackson." The girl said, before she looked away from him shyly.

"Why..."

"Your encounter with Scylla left you in a sorry condition, Perseus. Unfortunately you did not hit the sea, after Scylla had shot you out of her maw." His mentor said. Calypso move away, allowing him to see the mysterious woman stand at the other end of the bed. Just like in his last vision, she hid her face under a hood. But she looked even more imperious in real life, than she did in this vision. "You have to learn to think first, before you act. One day you won't survive. Even your luck will run out one day."

"I know..." Perseus admitted. "How long..."

"Two weeks. Calypso has cared for you ever since. She is a very devoted caretaker."

Percy looked at the girl once more. Much more appreciatively this time. "I... thank you, Calypso." She blushed and wouldn't look at him again, before she stood up. This allowed Percy to see her fully for the first time. She was truly a graceful girl, peach colored skin and caramel colored hair in a braid across her shoulder. He felt captivated by her appearance. He heard his mentor chuckle, but he couldn't care any less about it. Only when Calypso handed him a plate with some fruits on it, he seemed to snap out of his trance.

"Thanks..." he said, as he took the offered food. He had not even realized it, but now his hunger returned with a vengeance. If what they had said was true, then he had not eaten anything in the last two weeks. There was the lingering taste of Nectar in his mouth, revealing to him, that they must have given him at least the drink of the gods, but he was sure that there had been no food. His stomach told him that to be precise.

"Much has happened during your not so brief absence, Perseus." His mentor said, as he ate the fruits. "The world is in turmoil now. Kronos' servants have made their move and now even those who had the greatest doubts can no longer ignore the truth."

"What has happened?"

"They have attacked Camp Half-blood." She said matter of factly. "Not like you might think. No one has died yet, but the sacred tree, which has protected the camp so far, has been poisoned. The spirit within the tree is dieing and once it is gone, the camp will be defenseless and get overrun by monsters."

"And my friends?"

"They are searching for you. Your friend Ariadne, won't sit still for a single moment, until they have found you. You have found loyal and very valuable friends in her and her siblings. You will always have the sun on your side, no matter what the future will bring." He could hear the approval in her voice. He did not need it though, he knew well enough that Apollo and his children would never betray his trust, just like he would never betray them. "No matter how dire the situation for this world has become, you will need all the help you can get in the next war or it will be your last."

"Enough about glum topics. Perseus has just awoken, this should be a happy occasion." Calypso said, as she looked disapprovingly at his mentor.

"Of course. I shall take my leave now. Rest some more, Perseus. Your brother will find you and bring you back to your friends. But first you will learn what you need to survive. Your path will be very rocky from now on, but you must not falter. You must prevail, Perseus." She said with insistence once more, before she left the room.

"She is a stern woman, but you won't find a wiser teacher." Calypso said, as she sat down on the edge of Percy's bed.

"I don't even know her name, though..."

Calypso merely smiled, before she said, "One day she will reveal everything to you. Just know that you can trust her. I do." She saw that the plate she had given him was empty, so she quickly took it from him. "I will get you something more to eat. Don't run away from me so soon."

He did not think much about this comment, he couldn't see the sadness in her eyes as she left the room to get him more food. Little did he know about her and her curse and how she already dreaded his inevitable departure one day.

* * *

At the same time Triton was still busy searching for his missing brother.. Their father, Poseidon, had ordered all his servants to find his demigod son, no matter what. And though Triton had his own reasons for searching Percy, he still couldn't help himself but feel insulted by his father's order. He himself had disappeared for centuries without telling anyone where he had gone, but Poseidon had never even once started a search like this. Not for his godly son.

But he also realized that he could not blame his half-brother for this. Percy's relationship to Poseidon was just as strained as his own. Triton had initially agreed to help his brother, merely to follow his mother's wish. It was an act of revenge against the unfaithful god of the sea. But by now it had turned into something else entirely. He could see that Percy would have to follow a greater fate than most immortals. And he wanted to help the boy, when their father would just sit back and watch. Poseidon did not search for Percy because he wanted to help the boy. Triton was sure that their father merely despised the fact that he did not know where his son was and what he does.

And then there are the Titans. Percy was just thirteen years old, yet he has already become the center of their attention. Tethys reappearance was proof for that. The Titaness was a true conundrum to him. And she had the obvious habit to appear when he least expected her.

"Well, well. Look at that. A small godling, goofing around in my domain." A woman said tauntingly. Triton turned around fast, his trident already gripped tightly in his hand, when he heard her. Though he had not heard this voice in a long time, he still recognized it. This woman had been on his mind only moments before.

"Tethys..." he growled menacingly. She did not look intimidated in the slightest. Her icy blue eyes held nothing but amusement. She did not see him as a threat. And that angered him more than he would be willing to admit.

"I know why you are here, godling. You are searching for the brother you have lost. The one you actually like. Rejoice, Perseus is still alive and well. The boy does not disappoint. After all he is the first to get out of Scylla's maw." She saw his expression change when she brought up Scylla. And she knew it was for more reason than one. "Ah yes. The girl. Even after all this time, you still care for her. Even though there is nothing you can do for your cursed daughter."

"Don't talk about her..."

"So you want me to talk about your other child. The dead one. What was her name... ah, yes. Pallas. A name that got stolen by another child of yours. By your foster daughter." Tethys said mockingly. She wanted to rile him up and he knew it. But that didn't make it any easier for him to face his lost past.

"What would you know! As if you have ever cared for your own children." Triton shot back. He knew most of the Oceanids, Tethys' daughters and he was never really sure what to think of them, even though his own grandmother was one of them. But Tethys had never cared much about them, that much he knew for sure. "Now leave me be, I still have to find my idiot brother, before he manages to get himself killed."

"Yes. The good brother you are. Your sister and daughter must have quite a lot of stories to share about your conduct as a family member. If they can still talk in their current state that is. At least they are close enough to each other, for the rest of eternity."

"Why you..." Triton was angered now, both by the Titaness words and the constant smirk on her face. His grip on his trident tightened almost painfully, as he searched for a possible opening for an attack. He wouldn't let her mock him.

"A fight, godling? Is that really the best thing you can come up with in such a situation? Are you so narrow minded, that you can only think of fighting? I would have expected more from you. You aren't as stubborn and idiotic as my darling husband and your father. I would have hoped that you are the better man in this endless war, but alas, it seems that your brother is my only option now." She turned around, obviously to leave, but before she could get far Triton went passed her and blocked her way, his weapon aimed at the still smirking woman before him.

"You know where my brother is! Tell me! Now!" He growled. She was testing him. She angered him on purpose to watch his reaction. And he acted just as she had predicted.

"No. At the moment you are in no position to demand his return." Her smirk faded and she adopted a disappointed look, before she frowned. "We will meet again. Soon. I can only hope that you will be more willing to use your head then, godling." Then she vanished before his eyes, leaving Triton behind with many questions, but not even a single answer.

* * *

Ariadne paced restlessly in the room, always in circles around the table where the others had sat down. They were still discussing their options, now that their leader was gone. They were still searching for him, but so far they had no luck. All they had found were cliffs, maelstroms and islands full of monsters. But not even the slightest clue about Percy's whereabouts. It was driving Ariadne mental.

"Will you sit down already? It's grating on my nerves." Zoe growled in annoyance. She had been oddly silent ever since Percy had disappeared. She most kept to herself and Ariadne had no idea what was going on in the head of Artemis' lieutenant.

Ariadne and Zoe had not spoken a single word to each other after Percy had sacrificed himself to protect her. And that the first words after nearly two weeks were merely an annoyed admonishment did nothing to raise Ariadne's already very low opinion of her former comrade and teacher. Zoe had never been fair to Percy, she never had a good opinion of the boy, no matter what he did. And now she did not even show the slightest reaction to him saving her life. Ariadne couldn't help herself but resent Zoe for this.

"He has to be somewhere. The other islands were completely abandoned. Percy has to be somewhere." She pointed at the map they had drawn of the area. Ever since they had come to the Sea of Monsters they had tried to create a map of the region for later use. The fact that they had to search on every single island for their missing leader only made this job easier.

"We know, but how are we supposed to find him? It took us nearly two weeks searching the last few islands. If he is injured, we don't have the time to continue like this." Will said, as he saw the tense look on his sister's face.

He, just like Ariadne, missed having Percy around. How could he not. The children of Apollo had always played a minor role at camp. Some of them were simple healers, but people paid them far less attention then they deserved. Like Hermes' children they had been judged as run of the mill demigods, just because they were more numerous than the other children. Ares' children claimed to be the best fighters, Athena's children claimed to be the most intelligent, Aphrodite's children the prettiest... even Hephaestus' children were more respected due to their talent at creating things. Then Percy came and gave them two things. He gave them back their pride, by leading them to rise up against the wrongly perceived notion that they are nothing special. And most importantly, he gave them back their father, by giving Apollo an excuse to circumvent the laws that forbid the gods to see their children.

"There are four more islands in our immediate vicinity. And by the looks all of them are big." Beckendorf said, as he pointed at the unfinished marks on the map. "It will take a long time to search all of them if we continue like we have."

"Then we split up. One of us on each island. We search for Percy and should we find him, we can use Iris messages to tell the others." Ariadne exclaimed, as she slammed her hands on the table, right between Zoe and Lou.

All others looked unconvinced by this idea, but only Zoe voiced her opinion. "Are you mad, Ariadne. Have you learned nothing from our mistress or have you simply forgotten everything? These islands are dangerous. They are full of monsters. Together these demigods can win, but should they split up, they will only find their deaths on those islands. That boy isn't..."

"Isn't what, Zoe?" Ariadne asked challengingly. "Not worth it? Is that what you wanted to say? You are the reason why he is gone in the first place. For some reason I can't understand he has tried to save your life, yet you do nothing to help him. You didn't help us so far. All you did was disappear whenever we got closer to one of the islands. Just say it, you hope we won't find him."

"That is not what I meant..." Zoe started, but Ariadne wouldn't let her finish.

"Then what is? Why don't you go back to may aunt and continue to live in your petty world of hatred. Percy isn't here to risk my life, as your mistress has so eloquently put it." Everyone in the room was silent, as they watched the confrontation between the Hunter and her former student.

Zoe looked at Ariadne for a long time, slightly unsettled by the hostility in her eyes. She could only hope that Ariadne had not started to think about Deianira's outrageous claims. "Do not think that I am an ungrateful imbecile, Ariadne. I have searched for him as well, but we are hunters, they are not. They are a hindrance. Unlike us, they have never been trained as hunters. We have a better chance to find Jackson without them slowing us down. That is why I chose to search on my own, every time we stop at an island." Even Zoe had to notice the disdainful look all others in the room were giving her now, especially Will and Ariadne. But she meant every word. She did not say this out of spite, but because she did not fancy seeing any of them die any time soon, not even the boys...

"Excuses. If you want to hunt on your own, now is your chance. The next island is just over there. Go and have fun on your own." Ariadne said angrily, before she stormed out of the room to get some fresh air.

Zoe looked around, but all others refused to even meet her eyes now. "Fine. If this is what you want, then get me to that island."

"That will be a bit more problematic. The island is surrounded by sharp cliffs. We can't get any closer with the ship without risk." Beckendorf said worriedly. He didn't want to risk his father's gift like this.

"Fine then, I can swim well enough. But don't expect me to come saving any of you on your suicide quests." She did not look back, before she left the room, just like Ariadne had before, and jumped off the boat to swim to the island.

"Ah well, that was... charming..." Lou was the first to speak again and her dry comment caused Will to chuckle slightly. Even Silena seemed to smirk. With both Ariadne and Zoe out of the room, the mood seemed considerably brighter. "So, who's next?"

"I'll go. The next island is not far. Less than an hour." Will said, as he pointed at the marks on the map that highlighted the position of the next island. "Boy I hope that it has some nice resort with all kinds of pretty girls." His smirk widened as he said that. "I could really use a vacation."

* * *

A day had passed since Percy had woken up on Calypso's island. Calypso had been helpful, when he started asking her questions about what had happened during his brief absence, though he couldn't be sure, whether her information was correct or not. One of the first things he had learned about her, was that she was unable to leave her island, so all the things she knew, must have come from his mentor. So he would only know what his mentor wanted him to know. It was easy enough to realize, even without being a child of Athena. Oh how he could easily imagine what they would say about his current situation. About his foolish fight with Scylla... he was sure that none of them would have tried to save a fried at the possible cost of their lives, after all it wouldn't be logical to do that. Especially when the one you try to safe hates your guts.

He shook that thought quickly out of his head. He tried to remain impartial. He knew about his family's feud with Athena and her children, but staying out of it was not easy. Triton never said a single positive word about the demigods of the wisdom goddess. He loathed them and instructed Percy to do the same. And Percy found himself following his brother's example more often than not.

"Percy?" He was still so deep in thought, that he did not even realize, that someone tried to get his attention. "Percy!" She said with more insistence. But again he did not react. That was until a large wave rose from the sea and crashed down on him without prior warning. He had come to the sea to think and clear his head, but now it seemed as if the sea itself was mad at him for some reason.

The he saw her. One person he had not expected to see again any time soon. Tethys. She smirked at him, an amused glint in her icy eyes, as she approached him slowly. She took her time, as she walked out of the sea, until the water merely covered her feet. She could easily see that he was torn, unsure about what he should do. She saw how his hand almost instinctively went for the amulet Apollo had given him. A natural reflex to the boy who had grown up fighting monsters for the sun god.

"Go on, take your weapon, demigod. Show me what the gods have taught the newest pawn of Olympus." She said mockingly, as she pulled a spear out of the ocean. Her weapon was made out of water, seemingly soft and not even remotely solid, but Percy was sure that it was no less deadly than his own swords.

He barely had time to get his sword out, before Tethys' spear shot towards his head. He deflected the weapon with his own sword, as he watched with astonishment as the liquid spear turned into ice where it met the golden blade of his Sunreaver.

"Don't hesitate!" Tethys growled, before the end of her spear turned back to its liquid form and tried to wrap around his neck. He jumped back, to get out of the weapon's reach, but it followed him, followed his every move. It was unsettling. To see water controlled in such a way. With such perfection. He had not seen anyone with such control before. Not even Triton. But Tethys was much older than his brother... and much more dangerous as it seemed.

"Afraid, son of Poseidon? To see the water, that has aided and protected you all your life, used as a weapon against you." The water spear attacked him again, driving him back, further and further away from the sea. Tethys did not even move. She just stood there, the sea up to her hips now, as she controlled her weapon with ease and obvious enjoyment.

He tried to counterattack. To find a way to get closer to the Titaness, to attack her. But all his attempts were blocked. All plans foiled. He stood no chance against her water. He tried to use his inherited gifts, to control the water himself. But it wouldn't obey him. Not as long as Tethys did not want him to control it.

Another attempt, another counter from Tethys. The last attack from the liquid weapon knocked his sword out of his hands, sending it flying further away from the sea, leaving Percy open for the next attack. He had no time to pull out Riptide, before the spear crashed into him. He felt as if he had been hit by a brick-wall.

"You are still so weak..." Tethys said with obvious disappointment. "It is pathetic to watch you struggle. Not flexible, not even the slightest bit creative. Don't you understand, that this is not what you can achieve? You can achieve perfection, you must achieve perfection. Otherwise you will only find death in this war. Not matter which side you choose, as you are now, you will die." She shook her head almost sadly, as her weapon receded and disappeared in the sea. "You will train, you will get stronger. You won't leave this island, unless you show me appropriate improvement."

"By the gods, just what do you want from me?" Percy asked between labored breaths. That last hit had been hard on his ribs and he still felt as if he did not get enough air into his lungs. But he could not understand Tethys reasons at all.

The Titaness laughed when she saw his expressions, some mixture of annoyance and pain from the earlier beating he had to endure. "Believe it or not, boy, but you will end a war for me. One way or another. You are a child of the sea and thus you have an obligation to fight in this war. But dead you won't be of any use to me. I need you strong and alive to win for me! Train, Perseus. I will return soon and I will expect to see some improvement." With her last words she dispersed into water and disappeared with the waves. But when Percy tried to get closer to where she had been, the waves rose higher, knocking him over, carrying him back to the beach.

"Crazy Titan. So I am a prisoner now..." Percy said dejected. "Is this what you wanted? Is this part of my trials? Answer me?" He yelled his frustration out, hoping that his mentor would listen and answer. But she remained silent, much to his aggravation.

* * *

**A/N: So another chapter done, after my prolonged absence. I hope you all liked it so feel free to tell me what you think about this story so far.**

**From now on the story will follow several different paths. Zoe, Will, Ariadne, Lou and Percy will all follow different paths, though they will meet again on the way until they are all back together on the ship. But all of their different minor stories will be part of the bigger storyline and Percy's trials.**

**Some things about the family relation mentioned in this chapter. Tethys is in fact connected to many characters in this story. For one Tethys is Calypso's mother. At the same time Tethys is also the mother of Pleione, Zoe's mother, Doris, Amphitrite's mother and Triton's grandmother and funnily enough, Metis, Athena's mother. And many of Tethys' youngest daughters are actually attendants of Artemis. Ah yes. One big, happy family. Her connection to many of the story's characters is one of the reason why I have chosen her as a major character during Percy's first trials. But her true plans for Percy will remain a secret for now.**

**And no, the pairing for Percy has not yet been decided. Maybe it will be Calypso, maybe Zoe or Bianca or even Thalia. Just wait.**

**So anyway, the next chapter will come soon. I will try to update more regularly from now on. Until next time, cya.**


	10. X

**Hi folks, before we start with the new chapter, there are a few things that I wish to share here with you.**

**First and foremost I want to thank those who have taken the time to leave me a Review or a PM - knowing my readers opinion about the story is very important to me and I value the input. It is nice to see that people actually like what I'm doing here. One thing that made me laugh though, was that there was an almost immediate reaction to one of the reviews. One reviewer stated that I should have more Reviews for my story and within an hour after that review I got another one, an anonymous Review stating that I should not even have a single Review and my story should be removed, because of my statement that I won't write Percabeth stories. I really have to thank that little troll, I had a good laugh. Stating that I don't deserve Reviews through a Review... that was about the most entertaining thing I have ever read on FF.  
**

**And there is one more thing I wish to address here. As you all probably know by now, I have not yet decided on the final pairing for the entire storyline. There will be some scenes and indications for certain girls, but please keep in mind that Percy is only thirteen at the moment and not yet ready to commit for the rest of eternity. I can only say that the pairing will not be Percy/Annabeth or Percy/Ariadne.**

* * *

He whistled a merry tune, as he slowly strolled over the green fields on the island. Despite the troubling reason for his visit to this place, he still tried to enjoy his little solo adventure. His first chance to prove himself. And his father was watching over him from above. Every time he looked up to the sun, he was sure that he could see his father's chariot. He would do all he could to succeed in his current task. It was a matter of pride after all.

He was aware of the importance of his search. They would need Percy. The son of Poseidon was the center of the gods' attention, though Will could only guess why. Percy had to be important, otherwise they wouldn't bother with him. Not to mention that the boy had become a good friend. Will would never abandon a friend.

So he tried to hurry, to search the entire island on his own. But so far he had not even seen the slightest sign of another human being. Only some animals, that shied away whenever he got too close to them. But no sign of the missing demigod. No sign of his father's champion.

But he would not give up so easily. No, instead he was now headed towards the small mountain at the center of the island. The elevated place would surely allow him to finish his task faster and easier. At least it would give him a chance to see how big his island really was.

It didn't take him longer than a few hours to reach the small forest at the base of the mountain, though the sun had already begun to set. He would need to set up a camp for the night. The forest would surely present him with a good place to rest.

But his search for a resting place was soon forgotten, when he heard a the sound of splashing water, not far from his position. Careful not to reveal his presence, in case someone or something would be waiting for him there, he slowly approached the source of the sound.

There, behind a small bluff, he found something that he had not expected. He had been in for an island full of monsters, but this was something else entirely. Down there, several feet below, he could see a small pond. And inside this pond he could see three beautiful women, bathing and chatting.

Will couldn't help himself but look in the direction of the setting sun and mutter a quiet 'Thanks dad'. He was sure that his father had known about this place. When Will had chosen this island, he had acted on instinct. He chose the island in the east, the place where the sun would rise. And he knew for sure that his father would also appreciate this sight. Not that either Apollo or his son were perverts, far from it. But both knew how to appreciate a nice view.

"What do you reckon our mother wants with that half-blood hero?" One of the women said. Just these few words, spoken without any regard to who might hear them, already revealed to Will that he had most likely stumbled upon his first real lead towards Percy's whereabouts.

"I do not know, but whatever it is, I think we should keep our eyes open. Our mother isn't the only one who seems to follow this boy. And you would be well advised to be ready, should they need us, Nede." The other woman chided sternly.

"Right, right. No need to be so serious, Amaltheia, Nede is just curious. We haven't seen such dangerous times since the end of the Golden Age." The third said, before she let out a mirthful chuckle. "Just think about it. Everything is changing. Our mother hasn't bothered with mortals or half-bloods for millenia. I can't wait to see what this boy will do."

"I doubt that he will be of much use. If Lord Kronos is truly rising, then one demigod will not be enough to stop him."

Will listened intently. He tried to remember where he heard these names before. He was sure that he had heard them before. He and his siblings knew most myths by heart, after all they created songs for the campfire sing-alongs from these stories. But he just couldn't remember them.

"And father is agreeing to this? This boy is after all a spawn of Poseidon. He would never allow this boy to live." The third wondered aloud.

Amaltheia answered almost immediately. "That is why mother has hidden the boy on the island of our dearest sister. No one will search for him there, no one will find him there. And you won't tell this to anyone either, is that clear?" She looked sternly at the others, her sisters, who quickly nodded. "Always remember, Nede, Myrtoessa, our loyalty lies with our mother, not with the warmonger."

"Yes, sister," The other two chorused.

Will was confused now. It was clear that these three were not normal women, but Nymphs. And it was clear that they knew where Percy was hidden. But who was this mother of theirs? And why was she so interested in Percy? He knew that his best chance at finding Percy was to find out who they are and who this sister was, on whose island they kept the boy.

Suddenly something was growling behind him. Will jerked up when he heard it, pulled out a knife with a long, sleek blade, to defend himself. But what awaited him there wasn't something he could kill with a mere knife. There, behind him, stood two fully grown lions. They had begun stalking around him, slowly, deliberately. They were waiting for a chance to strike.

"Nice kitties. Stay right there. Be nice to me and I'll be nice to you." He said in an attempt to soothe the animals, but they wouldn't allow themselves to be pacified this easily. On the contrary, they roared loudly in anger, alerting the nymphs in the pond below. When the three looked up they could see Will there, standing with his back turned to them, his knife still in his hand.

"Intruder! Quick sisters, he mustn't escape." Amaltheia yelled, before she, just like her sisters, hurried towards her clothes.

"Oh shit," Will cursed loudly, as he realized that he now had to deal with two hungry lions and three very angry nymphs. His streak of bad luck continued, as he was forced to make a step back, to stay out of the lion's reach. He tripped and fell. Right into the pond below and into the midst of the nymphs. But he wasted no time and tried to make a run for it. But that was not easy, now that his clothes were also soaking wet and clinging to him. But he ran. Ran as fast as his feet would carry him, the nymphs and the lions hot on his heels.

"I am really sorry! I mean it. I didn't try to eavesdrop or peep, honestly." He yelled, as he ran. But the Nymphs' anger knew no bounds as it seemed. And to his horror these Nymphs were also faster than him. One of them suddenly appeared not far in front of him, forcing him to alter his course.

Then a lion suddenly jumped in his way, showing him his sharp teeth as he roared once more. "By the gods, why are there even lions on this damn island?" Will huffed in frustration, as he avoided the animals paw.

He had to jump over a fallen tree, to avoid the next strike, though he couldn't see what was behind it. And his bad luck had not run out yet. Behind the log was a cliff and the unfortunate son of Apollo fell down head first. When he reached the bottom he did not get up again. All that he saw now was the dimly lit evening sky and the faces of three nymphs, that looked down on him with cold gazes.

* * *

Sweat ran down his face, as Percy stopped his relentless assault against the tree he had chosen as his training dummy for the day. Ever since Tethys had left, he had started to train. Though he did not know why, he was sure that the Titaness would keep her word and keep him imprisoned on this island for as long as she considered him too weak.

He wanted to mope and complain about it, but he knew that it would be useless. Apollo had not raised him to be a whiny brat. Sometimes he wondered if Lady Artemis really knew her brother at all, the Apollo he knew was laid back brother persona, but also a stern and thoughtful teacher when it comes to those things that could one day safe his champion's life. All his sister seemed to see was the Apollo who competed with Hermes in a their contest who could bed more women. And Percy did not want to disappoint Apollo now. Neither did he wish to disappoint Triton either, who had sacrificed so much time to teach him proper control over his innate talents.

"Percy! You should take a break. Come, I'll get you something to drink and eat." Calypso, his ever thoughtful host and current caretaker, said softly, as she appeared not far from his training place. Somewhere deep down his mind screamed at him to think of her as his jailor. But he couldn't bring himself to think of her so negatively. She was too sweet and gentle to harbor any dark intentions towards him. No, Tethys used her, just like she used him.

"Right. Good idea. I'm coming." It was already time for dinner and the sun had begun to set on the horizon. He jogged over to her, before they walked together in the direction of a terrace, where Calypso would have most of her meals. He could already see the table with plates, filled with assortments of fruits, prepared by the many invisible servants on this island. At first he was kind of disturbed by these servants. Things happened around him and Calypso, without their influence. Only when she explained the presence of these to him. Otherwise the girl had always been rather tight lipped so far. It had been two days since he had woken up and in all that time she would always become quiet, whenever he tried to talk to her. She still cared for him though, which confused him even more.

"You know, you have not answered my question from yesterday's dinner, Calypso." The day before he had asked her about the island and why Tethys thought that the gods wouldn't find him here. But she had not answered him so far. And even now she remained silent, her face averted from his the entire time. "Calypso?"

"I... this is not the right time." She said curtly, before quickened her pace and walked ahead of him. Percy could only watch her back in bewilderment.

"What the..." Something was very fishy, but he couldn't put his finger on it... not yet at least. When he arrived at the terrace, Calypso was already sitting at the table, eating silently, without looking up.

"Just what is wrong with this question? What are you hiding from me, Calypso?" Percy asked, his voice full of suspicion. "Are you a servant of Tethys? Are you my jailor? Are you here to observe my progress for that Titaness?" He sounded more forceful than he had intended and the reaction of the girl quickly caused him to regret his choice of words.

"I... this place... this is not your prison... it is mine..." She mumbled almost inaudibly, but Percy still understood what she had said.

"What..."

"I thought they told the demigods the stories of their famous siblings. Have you never heard about me, from Odysseus' tales?"

He thought about it, but he couldn't remember much about Odysseus. Apollo had told him many stories, but when it came to the Trojan war, Percy knew more about Troy and Hector, than the Greek with their heroes Achilles and Odysseus. Apollo had been on the side of the Trojans and hated those servants of the invaders. He had hated them so much, that he nearly broke the ancient laws when he aided Paris in killing Achilles.

"I am sorry, but I don't know much..."

Calypso finally looked directly at him, her dark eyes filled with sorrow. It was hard for Percy to look at her, without drowning in her sadness. He had no idea, that under her sweet and caring persona, there was such a sadness hidden inside.

"I am Calypso, daughter of the Titans Atlas and Tethys. This island, Ogygia, has been my prison for many millenia. Ever since the end of the Golden Age of the Titans the gods kept me a prisoner here, as punishment for standing on my father's side during the war."

Percy was speechless for a moment. This girl. This sweet and gentle soul, was the daughter of two Titans. The daughter of the one who kept him on this island against his will. And yet the girl was a prisoner herself, a prisoner of the gods he served.

"I know what you might think about me now. What people think about my father. He has done many abominable things during the war, but I cannot hate him. Despite everything he is still my father."

"And your mother? How can she come here, knowing that this is your prison and do nothing to free you?" Percy asked in astonishment.

"My mother does not want me to leave this island..."

"What a cruel thing to do to ones own child. No matter how pretty this place may be, it does not change that you are a prisoner." Percy protested. He may not remember much from his own birth mother now, so many years after her death, but he was sure that she would have done anything in her power to help him.

Calypso shook her head quickly, before she replied with an alarmed tone in her voice, "No, she is not cruel. My mother does it to protect me. As long as I am on this island, there is almost no chance for me to die. You have to understand, I have a large family. Three thousand sisters and just as many brothers. But they are always in the center of the conflicts between gods and Titans. Many have died in these conflicts and I know that it is tearing my mother apart. To see her children fight and die in these wars is slowly killing her. If this continues, then she might fade one day."

"But... why is she keeping me here?" Percy asked the question that troubled him the most.

"I don't know. Believe me, I don't. But she was the one who brought you here in the first place. She was the one who asked me to care for you, despite..." Her voice betrayed her before she could finish her sentence, and she averted her gaze from him once more.

"Calypso?" Percy was confused. A feeling that seemed to haunt him much more often than he liked. Again the girl before him left him with more questions than answers.

"I'm sorry... I can't... she quickly stood up and left the table. Percy could only watch her retreating form, as he pondered what could have caused this sudden reaction. He finished his meal in silence, before he decided to take a walk to clear his head.

Too much had happened in his life. Especially during the last year. Ever since Zeus had found out about his existence, his life had become a lot more troublesome. Now he was not just the chosen champion of Apollo, but also a servant of Olympus... and an unwilling pawn of a Titaness.

He wondered if this was the revenge of the Fates. They had sworn that he would pay for defying the fate they had envisioned for him. Was this entire war between gods and Titans merely a creation of theirs, an act of revenge against him and Apollo? He chuckled as this thought crossed his mind. He discarded the idea almost immediately. The idea that the Fates would do such a thing to spite a mere demigod was utterly ridiculous and he wasn't arrogant enough to think so highly of himself. But what else could be the explanation for his current fate?

And he wasn't the only one affected by this. His friends. Will, Lou, Beckendorf, Silena... and Ariadne. They were here, inside the Sea of Monster, because of him. And according to his mentor, his friends were searching for him. They were risking their lives for him. On the one hand he smiled about this, knowing that he had such good and loyal friends. But on the other hand he was worried. He did not want any of them to get hurt or worse yet, die because of him. The only one he wouldn't have to worry about would be Zoe. The Lieutenant of Artemis' Hunters was well experienced and trained. Many centuries of surviving in the wild had improved her skills to levels that other demigods would never reach in a single lifetime... and of course Lady Artemis would come to her aid in a heartbeat. The goddess of the hunt had much more leeway when it came to the ancient laws and the prohibition of direct interference.

He sighed, as he sat down on a cliff and looked out onto the sea. The sun had nearly vanished on the horizon and the last feeble sun-rays illuminated the waves in a golden light. It was a breathtaking sight to behold. And the sea calmed him. He couldn't get close enough to swim in it, without being knocked back by Tethys waves, so he had to contend himself with being near the water. It would have to suffice for now.

"I wonder... can't you see me sitting here, Apollo? Your light can reach this place..." He chuckled dryly and shook his head. "Of course not. This has to be Tethys' doing. Good night, Apollo. I'll see you tomorrow, even though you can't see me. But maybe your sun will still be able to shed some light on the mysteries of this island." He stood up from the cliff and was about to turn around and return to his room. But then he saw something swimming between the rocks at the feet of the cliff. But by the looks of it, this was not mere flotsam. No, it was a person...

* * *

They had spotted her not long after sunrise. The lone huntress, that roamed the island they had been stranded on. So far they had not seen any of her friends, but to them it was clear that they couldn't be far. Fighting them all at once would be a suicide job, but if they could separate them...

So they watched the girl. Careful to remain hidden from sight, they followed her, as she explored the island and avoided the cannibalistic giants. She moved around with ease and the grace that only the Hunters of Artemis could achieve, but there was no sign of any of her companions. She was alone.

"This has to be a trick. Jackson and the others must be close." Ethan muttered, as he watched Ariadne.

"Maybe. But why would they do that? They cannot possibly know about us being here. So why is she alone?" Deianira mused. She had known Ariadne for years and she was sure that she could understand the girl, at least on some level. The daughter of Apollo had always been a very social creature, rarely alone at any given time. She knew that Ariadne preferred the company of her friends, so why would she willingly travel alone. Unless something had happened. "We should try to get closer." She looked towards Ethan and saw him nodding mutely. But when she looked for her other companion, she was in for a surprise. "Diana? Ethan, where is she?"

"The midget is your apprentice and therefore not my problem. Why should I know what is going on in that head of hers." Ethan replied dismissively. Though he was always kind towards the girl, he had made it clear to Deianira that he would not be held responsible for the girl's fate. He was against bringing her along in the first place.

"Oh no. I swear that girl loves disappearing far too much for a child her age!" Deianira muttered, before she started searching for her young charge.

Ethan chuckled dryly as he heard her. "Must be her mother's fault. I sometimes wonder if she is hiding wings somewhere under her clothes."

Meanwhile the ten year old demigoddess had ventured away from her friends and towards the girl that Deianira had been so interested in. Though she had never met Ariadne in person, she still knew quite a bit about this girl. Deianira had shared many stories about her and Ariadne's time with the hunt and how Ariadne had given her the hope to abandon their cruel mistress.

But once she had reached the clearing where Ariadne had rested before, she found nothing. No trace that there had been another person before. That wasn't until she heard someone speak behind her. "What are you? A nymph or another monster in a clever disguise?" When Diana turned around, she couldn't see anyone. At least not until she looked up and saw the blond demigoddess perched on a branch, her silver bow in her hand, an arrow knocked and ready.

"Hi," Diana said cheerfully, "I'm Diana, daughter of Nike."

Ariadne relaxed slightly, as she heard that this girl is a demigoddess, but that did not answer any of her other questions, so she was still on her guard. "What are you doing here?"

"Camping."

"Camping?" Ariadne asked in surprise.

"Yup." The girl started humming a tune, as she started looking around in the clearing. "Oh, look there, a doggy."

Ariadne looked at where the girl had pointed and nearly fell out of the tree in shock. The thing this little girl had called a simple doggy, was in fact a lot bigger... and had three salivating heads, filled with sharp teeth.

"Diana run! That is no doggy. That's the Cerberus." Ariadne yelled, before she raised her bow and shot at the beast, but it was to quick, too agile and avoided her shots. Instead it charged at the young girl.

Ariadne jumped out of her tree and ran towards Diana. She reached the girl just in time and pulled her out of harms way, as the Cerberus would have either crushed or eaten her, had she not moved. But the monster would not give up so easily.

"Come on. We have to escape." Ariadne said, as she continue to pull Diana along. Together they ran as fast as their feet would carry them. "Just what is that damn thing doing here? It should not be able to leave the Underworld."

"But it's fun. Why can't we play with it." The girl just couldn't understand that they would not stand a chance against this monster. The idea of loosing did not even occur to the child.

Ariadne did not answer Diana's question, she was far too busy searching for a way to escape. And she quickly found one, though she wasn't sure if it would work. But they did not have much of a choice.

"There. I hope you like swimming." Ariadne said, as she pulled Diana towards a cliff. She had passed this place only a few hours before and knew that there was a lake below, about 40 foot below. "Jump!" She didn't wait for a reaction from Diana and simply pulled the girl along. Not that she seemed to mind. The young demigoddess squealed in joy as they fell.

They hit the water with a loud splash. Ariadne struggled to get back to the surface as quickly as possible, as she quickly ran out of air. In moments like these she envied Percy's ability to breathe under water. He could stay under water as long as he wished, never in need of air. But she was a child of the sun, not the sea and she needs air.

"Again! Again! Let's do that again!" Diana cheered as she resurfaced next to Ariadne. But the older demigoddess paid the girl no attention. No, she look up to the place where they had jumped down from. Up there stood the Cerberus, panting like a docile dog. And next to him stood a girl in black armor with hair as dark as the darkness itself, stroking the monster's fur as if it was a mere pet. But before Ariadne could recognize her, the girl and the monster disappeared in the shadows.

"Can we do something like this again?" Diana asked once more. Ariadne could only look incredulously at the girl.

"Are you serious?" Ariadne asked with a frown. Diana nodded eagerly, before she splashed some water in Ariadne's direction. "By the gods, why do I have the feeling that you might be the death of me one day..."

This elicited a small giggle from the girl and another frown from Ariadne. "What's so funny?" The daughter of Apollo asked, as she pushed her long, wet hair out of her face.

"Deianira said the exact same thing yesterday!" The girl proclaimed with a bright smile.

But Ariadne couldn't smile. She could only look at the child in shocked silence. Did she hear that correctly? Had this girl just said Deianira?

"DIANA?" Someone yelled from above them and as Ariadne looked up, she could see a person she had not expected to find on this island. Deianira, the first hunter that had managed to abandon Lady Artemis after taking her vows. And she wasn't alone.

* * *

**A/N: And cut. I hope that everyone liked this chapter.**

**About the first part, well let's face it, with Apollo as his dad, Will is bound to have at least some perverted tendencies. Watching Nymphs while they bathe would be just the kind of pastime Apollo would enjoy.**

**And the three Nymphs, Amaltheia, Myrtoessa and Nede are all Oceanids, daughters of Tethys and Oceanus. In fact there are three thousand Oceanids, the sixty youngest of them are all attendants of Artemis, the rest are spread out all around the world. And there are also three thousand sons, the Potamoi, the river gods. So yes, Oceanus and Tethys had been quite busy for a long time. These children of the Titans will play a pivotal role in Tethys' plot. Calypso is also sometimes listed as a Oceanid, though her father is Atlas and not Oceanus.**

**And one fun fact, there is a new hint towards the identity of Percy's secret mentor in this chapter, let's see who finds it.**

**There isn't much to say about Percy and Calypso at the moment, I believe that the chapter explained itself so far. But remember, unlike in the books, Percy has not heard anything about Calypso before. In the second book Circe told him about Calypso, but this time there has been no one to tell him either good or bad about her. Calypso is mostly connected to Odysseus adventures and as I had stated in this chapter, Apollo is a rather unlikely person to tell Percy stories about the heroes he despised during the Trojan war. Apollo was on the Trojans side, just like Aphrodite, Ares, Enyo and Eris. So you also shouldn't expect Percy to be thrilled by anything that has the name of the Greek hero Achilles.**

**And to avoid the questions, no, I don't hate Artemis, but I see her as one of the cruelest goddesses. Just look at her list of accomplishments and all the people she has hurt and killed out of envy, hatred or just because she could. And the entire Hunt always seemed to be based on the common hatred of men in general. No matter the reason, Artemis and her Hunters act just like the men they despise and that is something most fan fiction authors seem to ignore. Some even believe it is funny to have them torture Percy for no good reason but him being male, until he miraculously saves them from harm that not even Artemis has a chance against. It is an overused plot that is all too common in most Pertemis stories and blatantly ignores the true nature of the goddess.  
**

**Alright, enough for now. Next chapter will be out soon, until then have fun and tell me what you think...**


	11. XI

**Well there isn't much to say at the beginning of this chapter. I just want to use this moment to thank all my faithful readers and reviewers. Who needs thousands of reviews, I am happy that there are people who have followed my stories from the very beginning to this point. Kudos to all of you, who have managed to stand my complaints and disappearance acts. Thank you for reading my works.  
**

* * *

Calypso watched the moon, as it shone above her island, full and bright. It's silver light bathed the sea underneath in an ethereal glow, that even someone as old as her could only describe as breathtaking. Rarely had she seen the moon glowing like this.

"Lady Artemis must be searching for something... or someone..." It was the only explanation she could find for this. Just like Apollo could see everything that the sun could reach, his sister saw what the moonlight would hit. And Calypso knew exactly what the twin archers were searching for. Percy.

The daughter of Tethys sighed, as he mind drifted towards her current guest. She had been curious when her mother had brought him here. He was in a sorry condition and did not look exactly special, so she wondered why Tethys would bring him to her. But she cared for him, no matter the reason for his presence on her island. She could see that her mother was very pleased by this. And when she returned with the other Titaness, Percy's mentor, things suddenly started to look different, he started to look different to her.

They had trusted her not just with his care, but also with their plan, knowing that she wouldn't betray her family. Her loyalty to her father had landed her on this island in the first place. But she wasn't allowed to tell him anything. She had to swear it. But keeping this secret from him became harder with every passing day, as Percy started to ask questions. Some she couldn't and some she did not want to answer.

She could see his annoyance with her. His growing distrust. And it was slowly destroying her. Her curse left her with little choice when it came to her feelings. But Percy couldn't know that. But her mother knows and Calypso couldn't help herself but wonder what Tethys had planned, when she brought Percy to her. There were many other places and other children that the Titaness could have used to further her plans.

"Calypso!" She suddenly heard Percy yell. He sounded distressed, but she couldn't fathom why. There was nothing distressing on this island. It was a paradise.

She stood up and walked towards where she had heard the boy, until she could see him. And the trail of water behind him. And in his arms he was carrying someone equally wet. A girl, with black hair. A girl that she had not seen since before her own banishment. One of her sisters. Another daughter of Atlas. Zoe.

"Calypso, I need your help here." Percy said, as he got closer to her. "I found her swimming face down in the sea. She's alive, but only barely."

"What..."

"Come on, help me with her, please. Lady Artemis will skin me alive should she die." Percy pleaded. But somehow his words also reassured her, though she couldn't understand why exactly.

"This way. If there is one thing I have here, than it is space and empty rooms." She lead him to a room nearby and motioned for him to put the unconscious girl down on the bed. She sat down on the edge of the bed and started inspecting her sister, searching for any wounds. "Percy, please leave the room."

"What? But why?" He seemed confused for a moment, but a pointed look from Calypso made him realize why she wanted him to leave. "Oh... yes. Yes, of course. I'll be outside... if you need me." Percy mumbled, before he quickly left the room, his head red as a tomato.

"Men," Calypso mumbled in amusement, as she saw him leave. Percy was so innocent. In comparison to the others that had come before him... "Now to you. Just why have you suddenly come here, sister?"

One of her invisible servants brought her cup filled with Nectar, but she wouldn't use it, before she was sure that there weren't any wounds that needed to be cleaned first. So she set to work, still wondering why Zoe had ended up here. The last thing her mother had told her, was that Zoe was with Percy's friends, searching for their missing leader. But now she was here and Calypso did not know whether Tethys was involved in this or if she would try to get rid of the girl, once she found out about her presence. Zoe was part of their family, in more than one way. She and Zoe shared the same father, Atlas, but whereas Calypso was the daughter of Tethys, Zoe was the daughter of Pleione, a daughter of Tethys.

She was just about to remove Zoe's hunting tunic, when the girl opened her volcanic black eyes and looked at her with suspicion. Before Calypso could remove her hand from Zoe's clothes, the huntress grabbed her wrist and squeezed it so tightly that it hurt.

"What are you doing?" Zoe growled with great suspicion.

Calypso inspected Zoe's face for a moment, to find out more about her current feelings, but found it hard to see anything else but distrust and weariness. "I try to tend to your wounds, sister dearest, but you are not making it easy for me." She replied finally.

"Sister...?" Zoe asked in confusion. Though Calypso wouldn't admit it, she felt hurt and offended by the obvious fact that one of her own sisters did not even remember her. She knew she had thousands of siblings on her mothers side of the family, but only a hand full of paternal half-sisters.

"Yes, your sister. I don't know how, but you ended up on my island. But maybe you should thank someone else for saving you." Calypso said, before she called, "Percy, can you come back inside for a moment?"

The boy reacted immediately and returned. He was careful not to look directly at the bed again, just in case there was still something he was not supposed to see. His innocence was actually quite endearing and Calypso couldn't help herself but smile when she saw him. Her sister felt no such inclination. She scowled darkly at the boy.

"Jackson! Do you have any idea what you have done with your sudden disappearance?" She growled.

"Why yes, thank you Zoe. It was no problem saving you, you're welcome." Percy said sarcastically, obviously displeased by her reaction. "But we really should stop this. Me saving you and you thanking me by scowling and yelling at me. People will start to talk, you know."

Zoe tried to stand up, but Calypso quickly pushed her back down on the bed. Though she wasn't a trained hunter like her sister, Calypso was still the daughter of two Titans and therefore no pushover.

"Stay down. I haven't finished checking you yet. You were nearly dead when Percy found you. It's a miracle that you are already awake." Calypso said softly, in an attempt to soothe her agitated sister. But it didn't work and Zoe only struggle more to get up.

"Let go of me. I have to take this idiot back to the others so we can finish his stupid quest and I can go back to the Hunter, where I belong."

"That is easier said than done. Thing is, I can't leave this island." Percy said, as he maintained enough distance to the bed to give him a small head start, should Zoe decide that it is Percy hunting season.

"Stupid excuses. You have endangered all of us by bringing us to the Sea of Monsters and now you want to hide on this island, with her?" She looked darkly at Calypso, who still pinned her down on the bed. Said girl looked saddened by Zoe's obviously disapproval.

"Rest, get back in fighting shape, then we will talk. And don't blame your sister. It is not her fault that I am here. But should you try to make Calypso's life miserable because of your hatred for me, then I will no longer care for what your mistress would do to me." Percy said with a frown. His expression only softened, when he looked at Calypso. "I'll be in my room and get some rest. Call me if you need me." With one last nod he left the room.

Both Zoe and Calypso were silent for some moments, before the latter finally spoke, "I don't know why you seem to despise him so much, but Percy would be a much better friend than you obviously deserve, sister. Now let me have a look at your wounds, so we can resolve this." Calypso wasn't pleased with her presence. Zoe's sudden appearance and hostility was a disturbance and she was sure that her mother wouldn't approve of this.

"Jackson has wronged the Hunt countless times. He's an interloper, a dangerous boy, who does not know when to stay out of other people's business. And... he has wronged my mistress... no matter what she claims, I know that he has stolen something very precious from her. She would never admit it, but I can see it. I can see how much he has hurt her." Zoe said bitterly, her eyes still directed at the door, as if she expected Percy to come back any moment.

* * *

"Good. But not good enough. Do it again." Her sister instructed sternly. "A daughter of Hecate has to do better than this, Lou. The other gods may think of us as weak and claim that our mother is only a minor goddess, but we know better and do better than them."

Lou nodded, before she concentrated on her innate powers and repeated the incantation that her sister had taught her earlier. It was a minor spell, a fire based incantation that would prove useful in a fight against a big enemy. And she could feel the spell, as the fire appeared and rotated around her until it had formed a large column. It felt pleasantly warm and wouldn't hurt her, but anyone else would be burned within moments of getting hit by this. She tried to apply more power, to make the column bigger this time, but her concentration failed her and the fire disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"Better, but still not good enough." Her sister said disapprovingly. "But this will have to do for today. You won't improve as long as you are this tired. We shall continue tomorrow. Come."

Lou could only nod weakly, before she followed her sister back to the building. For her training they had come to the beach, away from anything even remotely flammable. But now they would return to the luxurious Spa, that her sister had on this island.

It had already been several days since her friends had dropped her off at this island. Several days since she had met one of her most prominent sisters. Circe, one of the most powerful children of Hecate in existence.

"You improve steadily, that is a good thing." Circe said, as they walked back in a leisurely pace. "But you still have a long way ahead of you." Lou remained silent, as she followed her sister to the dining room, where they would have their dinner, before the next lesson would begin.

Though she had only arrived a few days ago, Circe had taken a liking to her young sister and immediately offered to tutor her. Lou couldn't refuse such an offer, both for the sake of her own curiosity and the fact that she was sure that Circe would know a way to find Percy. But since she had arrived, Lou never had a chance to broach the subject of her missing friend. In fact she had not even talked to Circe about anything but their mother and their gift.

"Come, sit down." Circe instructed, as she sat down on the opposite side of the long table. Lou did as she was told and quietly observed her sister with great interest. Circe was an astoundingly beautiful woman, with long dark hair and startling green eyes, that unlike Percy's seemed to be filled with a fire, a magical flame.

Neither daughter of Hecate spoke, as a group of servants entered with plates filled with the finest foods, a delicious smell filling the room even before they could actually see their meal. The servants left their mistress just as quickly as they had appeared. All but one. One girl with dark hair and piercing dark eyes.

"That is all, Reyna. Leave us for now, I will call for you, should we need anything." Circe said dismissively, without even looking at the girl. Reyna did as she was ordered and left without uttering a word. "She is a strange one, that servant girl. She and her sister have come here some time ago. Two very feisty girls. Maybe I will let you fight one or both of them, once you have become stronger."

"Sister?" Lou asked carefully.

"Yes, Lou? Is there something you need?" The concern seemed genuine, something that puzzled Lou to no end.

"Why are you doing this? For me, I mean."

"A good question. I would like to claim that I do this out of sisterly love, but that would be an obvious lie. I'm doing this more for myself, than for you." Lou looked confused at Circe, clearly surprised by this cryptic, yet truthful answer. "Do not look like that. I am a daughter of Hecate, a true-born sorceress, just like you. But there is one thing that I lack at the moment."

"An apprentice."

"Correct, my young apprentice." Circe replied with a smile, as she especially emphasized the word 'apprentice'. "There are many girls here that could learn from me, but none of them are true daughters of Hecate like me... and you. I find you deserving of teachings and I know that our mother would approve." A benign look graced her face as she looked at Lou, who remained silent.

Though the explanation did seem to make sense, Lou couldn't help herself but be wary. All immortals she had learned about so far were treacherous, using their mortal siblings and family members to further their own agendas. And there was no doubt that everything Circe does was for some greater, unknown purpose.

"Do not look so critically, sister. I will not harm you, unless it serves a purpose in your training. You and I are children of the greatest goddess. Hecate has gifted us with our magic. Thanks to her we can feel it every day, the power that lies dormant, hidden in this world. And we can command it, taste it's sweet promise of greatness. We can command it, have this power at our fingertips, ready to smite our foes and aid our allies. No other children of the gods can ever reach our potential. No god can truly enslave us. We are free. And all you have to do is accept my offer. Be my apprentice and learn how to wield the gift our mother has given you. Learn from me and we will be the ones to guide this world to the next golden age." Circe spoke almost passionately, as she shared her thoughts with Lou. And the younger daughter of Hecate couldn't help but agree with her sister's words. She could feel that power, but she was hindered, forbidden to harness it. At Camp Half-blood they feared the children of Hecate and forbade them to use all of their powers. Many of her siblings had left because of that. Many of them now served in Kronos army no doubt.

"I want... I really want to, but..."

"Your missing friend. The reason why you have come here." Circe finished, her eyes never leaving Lou's for long.

"Yes. I have to find him. He is important to the gods, for the war. And he is a good friend, a loyal friend."

"Just a friend or is there more? I can understand why friends help each other, but you seem almost desperate to find him."

Lou blushed, but shook her head in denial. "He is just a friend. But he... he has this way to instill hope and a sense of loyalty into those who follow him. Everything he does seems to follow a greater purpose and you can't help yourself but wish to be part of it."

"Then learn, sister. Learn to be useful, learn to be powerful enough to help him in his struggle." Circe said with an unreadable expression. She seemed very serious all of a sudden, much more than before. "I will help you finding him. And once you have him, he can come here and train. I will find him a tutor worthy of his greater purpose." Again Lou could only wonder why Circe would wish to do that. What would she gain from this?

"I see that you are not convinced." Circe did not look at her, no her gaze had wandered to something outside of the large window next to their table. "Look and tell me what you see."

Lou looked, but all she saw was a single column in the distance, with a large flame on top of it. "Is that a signal fire? … No, it's too far away from the sea..."

"That, my dear sister, is a gift from my father. The protection of this island. A part of his essence, a part of the sun." Lou's brows furrowed in confusion, but she couldn't ask her question, as Circe continued. "My father may have faded long ago, but his essence prevails. I am sure that he would have wanted me to help the champion of his successor."

"Helios... your father is Lord Helios!" Lou exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes." A fond smile played on Circe's lips as memories of her father came up, "My father was the sun incarnate. And that out there is the last true flame, clean, untarnished by the corruption of this world. It is meant to purify this world, but Lord Apollo never even once claimed it. If your hero truly follows a greater purpose, maybe he will find a way to utilize my father's gift."

It made sense to Lou. In a strange, twisted way. Maybe Circe really wanted to help in this war. And Percy already had another relic of Helios, his sword, the Sunreaver. But little did the daughter of Hecate know, that her half-sister had something entirely different in mind when she offered her help. Things had been set into motion, that no mere demigod could comprehend. At least not without knowing the true plans of their puppeteers.

* * *

Will gulped, as he looked at the three nymphs that had surrounded him. Their glares alone were a frightening sight to behold, but the mere though about what they would possibly do to him... it made him shudder. Not even his aunt's hunters could scare him like this...

"What shall we do with this perverted demigod, sister?" Nede asked, as she looked towards Amaltheia for guidance. Out of the three, she looked the least sinister and menacing at the moment. But Will had no doubt that she would be just as ruthless as her sisters, should they decide to punish him.

"I say we feed him to Scylla," Myrtoessa said with a sinister smile.

"No," Amaltheia said calmly. "We will drown him in the sea, before we send his remains back to his siblings, as a reminder to never disrespect the daughters of Tethys ever again."

Tethys... Will's eyes widened as he heard the name of their mother. He had tried to remember where he had heard the names of these Nymphs before, but so far this particular story had eluded his mind. So these three were daughters of Tethys and most likely Oceanus. Oceanids, the three thousand daughters of the sea titans...

"Can't we... parley?" Will asked feebly. "I mean..."

"Silence!" Amaltheia replied harshly. "You will not speak, insolent child." She was about to strike him, but a command stopped her.

"STOP. This one must not be harmed." Whoever it was, her voice sounded imperious and the three nymphs obviously respected this person. The nymphs even stepped aside, allowing Will to see his savior. A woman in a long, white, Greek style dress, with a white hood. He couldn't see her face, but that wasn't of any importance right now. No, his attention was not on her hidden face, but on her companions. The two lions, which had hunted him not long ago. The large felines stood on either side of the woman, like two guardians.

"My lady, this boy has spied on us during our bath, surely you would understand he needs to be punished." Amaltheia said, as she approached the woman and knelt down before her.

The woman stepped forward and placed her hand on the nymphs head, caressing her hair softly, as she spoke with a soothing voice, "I can understand your anger, but this is not the time for petty grudges."

"But my lady, this boy..."

"Enough, my dear. This son of the sun is still important. He must not be harmed by you. And I believe you have sufficiently intimidated him, so he won't spy on women again, am I right?" She looked towards Will, who nodded quickly. He was sure he heard an amused chuckle from her, before she uttered her next order. "There is much to be done. Come, children, I require your help for some time."

"At once, my lady." Amaltheia said eagerly. But Will could see that she was not at all happy to let him go without punishment.

"And bring that demigod, I will need him as well." She said, before she vanished in a golden light. Amaltheia followed her without hesitation. Nede and Myrtoessa though grabbed Will and pulled him up from the ground, before they followed their sister and mistress.

Will felt nauseous, when they reached their intended location. Though he was used to traveling, being transported by an immortal without prior notification was quite unsettling for his stomach. For a moment the entire world seemed unhinged, out of focus, before it returned in its former state and crashed down upon him while he was still disoriented.

He did not know where he was now, but the strange woman and the three nymphs were still with him. Two of them actually dragged him along, as they walked down a rocky path. He could see that they were on a mountain of some kind. And the sea, he could still see it behind him. Were they on top of the mountain on this strange island? But why? Then he saw it. A small structure in front of them. Large marble columns, surrounding intricately ornamented walls.

"A temple..."

"Not quite," Nede mumbled next to him. Her grip on his arm tightened so much that it felt as if his arm would break any moment. "A shrine... a grave." She sounded sad and almost afraid as she spoke. He didn't know why, but this sea nymph was not happy to go there.

"Whose..."

"Silence or it will be yours." Myrtoessa snapped.

They stopped in what looked like a courtyard. In the center stood a statue. He could only presume that this was supposed to be a goddess, but he did not recognize her immediately. But something got his attention. The statue itself was made from the same white marble as the columns, but on its head he could see a silver crown, shining in the early moonlight of the night.

"I still shudder every time I see this place. We should not linger here." Myrtoessa mumbled, as she looked around warily.

"Why are we here?" Will asked the question that troubled him the most at the moment. None of the nymphs answered, but the woman who had commanded them to bring him here turned towards him and answered.

"This place has a very special meaning, young demigod. This is a place where an immortal has died..." She said with great sadness.

"Immortals can't die... can they? I mean, they reform, like the monsters do, right?"

"It is not always that easy, young one. Even us immortals can die a final death. We can fade from this world. A final farewell to this world and all we have been here." She turned away from him once more and approached the statue. "The mother died here, leaving this world wanting, alone. She left us only with the maiden and the crone. Her loss has cost us dearly." She reached up and took the crown from the statue.

"Who are you talking about?"

"The moon, young one."

"My aunt? But she is still alive. One of my traveling companions is her lieutenant. Lady Artemis is alive and well." Will said, as his confusion grew even more.

"I am speaking about the moon, not its keeper." The woman said, as she once more approached him, the crown now in her hands. Will could see that the crown had a crescent moon on it. "This is the place where she has faded, Selene, the moon incarnate. She had suffered for so long, getting weaker and weaker, until she finally faded from existence. Her death left a hole that almost no one can fill..."

"The Titaness Selene..." Will said astounded. "I did not know that she was gone as well. I know from my father that Helios has faded long ago, but I did not know that his sister had followed him..."

"Helios and Selene died very differently, young one. Whereas Helios accepted his fate and released his hold on the sun, so your father could take over, Selene tried to avoid her fate until the very last moment. She loved this world too much to leave it willingly. But her fate was cruel in the end and she had no choice. But she took most of her power with her and therefore endangered this world. No domain should remain unattended and your aunt has always been a hunter first and foremost. She never controlled the moon, she merely guarded it."

"So the moon will disappear?" Will asked.

"No," He could already see the big BUT coming, "but the world will never be the same again, should Selene's true domain be left unattended. But Selene did not leave this world without gifting us with one last remnant of herself. Her own legacy. Her successor."

Will looked dubiously at the woman, as she stood in front of him. This all sounded odd to him, like there was something very important that he should know, but wouldn't be told by anyone.

"You, young one, have a part in this. A great burden has been placed upon your shoulders, when you accepted to help my chosen one."

"Your chosen one?"

"The demigod you know as Perseus Jackson. He follows a far greater destiny than any other hero before him. And you, as one of his companions, will also be tasked with what needs to be done. All for the well-being of this world."

"I really don't understand." He tried to understand. He tried so hard, but this all made so little sense to him. Who was this woman? Was she really connected to Percy in some way? If she was truthful, then why has Percy never mentioned her? Was she an ally or an enemy of the gods? Or maybe... maybe she wasn't a goddess at all. Maybe she was a Titaness, like Tethys.

"You will be the first among many. A true guardian of the moon. Like sun and moon belong together, your fate will be tied to Selene's legacy. And together you will aid Perseus, as he follows his destiny. Without you he cannot succeed, but without him you all will perish." The woman said, as she waved her free hand over the crown and turned the item into an inconspicuous bracelet. "You must find the moon and bring her this crown. This will be her symbol of power and her way to ascend to her rightful place."

"But... Lady Artemis will skin me alive should I go anywhere near her and her Hunt. How am I supposed to bring her this crown?" Will looked pale. He knew how any attempt to approach the goddess of the hunt would end for a male demigod. Either as mythical bunny-deer... or as a pin-cushion.

"Foolish boy. This crown is not for the maiden, but for the mother. Did you not listen." Amaltheia hissed at him, with barely concealed resentment. Her ice blue eyes shone with a fury that promised pain, should he somehow offend her, her sisters or her mistress once more.

"She is correct. Artemis must not get this crown, she will crave it, but she must never receive it. Only Selene's true legacy may have it, or else the balance, that the immortals have so carefully preserved for eons, will be lost. But first you are needed elsewhere. You have a sister in need of assistance and siblings in need of guidance. Follow your path, Will Solace, and you will eventually succeed. Now go, save your sister." The woman dismissed him. "Amaltheia, show him a way to the island where he can find his sister, before you return to your mother. And none of you will mention this to anyone. Not your other sisters, not your brothers and especially not your parents." The three nymphs bowed deeply in reply, showing their submission to the woman.

Then the woman was gone, leaving him with only the nymphs, who were still angry with him. He gulped again, when he saw the evil grin on Nede's face, before he was suddenly transported to another place. The next thing he saw was a wave crashing down on him and the feeling of water all around him. They nymphs had gotten him off the island alright... but instead they had dropped him into the sea... some distance away from the next island. Oh how he hated swimming...

* * *

**A/N: And another chapter done. I hope it did not disappoint.  
**

**This was also the last chapter with three different parts. From now the story will follow Percy and Ariadne. And though it may look like there are too many different sub-plots, believe me that all of them lead to the same conclusion. **

**Most might have noticed that I have made a decision regarding the pairing for this story. Percy will eventually end up with a daughter of Atlas, though I have not yet decided which one. I have scenarios for both pairings and will decide at a later point which girl he will end up with. But there have been some people asking me for pairings, not just for Percy, but also for Will and Ariadne. For will I an open for any suggestion, though be warned, his pairing won't be very important for the overall storyline.**

**Everyone can see now, that the Titans play a much bigger role in this story than they did in canon. There are many interesting Titans, like Tethys, Oceanus, Helios, Selene, Lelantos, Rhea, Asteria, Leto and Eos. Most of them have not really appeared in the books. But as always, every immortal, gods and titans alike, have their own schemes and plans. And in my storyline they are heavily involved with the events, some siding with Kronos, some with the Olympians and some of the fight for an entirely different cause. Just guess to which group Percy's mentor belongs.**

**Oh well, enough for now. Next chapter will come soon. And please, there is no need to tell me through PMs that I have typos and some other mistakes in my stories. Please keep in mind that English is not my native language and that I work without a Beta after my last one stole a story from me.**

**Till next week then, cya...**


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